Morgan Sindall Construction’s Southern Home Counties team has commenced construction at Philip Southcote School’s main campus to deliver expansion works on behalf of Surrey County Council (SCC), to increase the number of much needed specialist school places in the region.
Procured through the fifth generation of the Southern Construction Framework (SCF5), once delivered it will be the first project to be completed under the latest generation. In its latest generation, SCF5 is available to all public bodies in the South East, London and the South West and equates to over £4.5bn in value.
The latest generation is intended to support public sector construction and development in the region, across education, health, local authority and leisure developments. Contractors who have been welcomed onto the framework demonstrate exemplary carbon benchmarking, particularly within retrofit.
Currently supporting almost 160 places on the main site, Philip Southcote School is a three-form entry specialist school for students aged 11-19 with moderate learning difficulties and co-occurring needs based in Weybridge.
The completed works will include two new blocks, one consisting of eight new classrooms, two new ICT suites, additional provision for hearing impaired students and an activity space. The second block will comprise a specialist hydrotherapy pool, which will be rebuilt and used by both the school and local community.
Additional car parking facilities and external landscaping will also be created as part of the scheme.
Morgan Sindall is committed to delivering social value to the communities in which it operates in. In line with this, the project team will be engaging with local supply chains and offering apprenticeship places for the local community.
Guy Hannell, Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction in the Southern Home Counties, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Surrey County Council again, building off the success of the recently delivered Freemantles School expansion. It is an area that the team understands really well and knows what it is needed when providing high quality educational facilities.
“It is great to see work commencing and we look forward to engaging with the community throughout the build, as we deliver more much-needed SEN places for the region!”
Cllr Natalie Bramhall, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Property, Waste and Infrastructure, commented: “We are pleased that Morgan Sindall have started works to expand Philip Southcote School. The expansion will offer excellent new facilities for current pupils and allow for more much-needed school places for children with additional needs and disabilities.”
Lee Jerwood, Headteacher at Philip Southcote School, said: “We’ve been delighted to welcome Morgan Sindall onto our campus, and they have been incredible in working alongside us, catering to some of the more unusual requests we’ve made of them related to our pupils and their very specific needs.
“The professionalism and speed with which they’ve transformed our site already is staggering, and we’re confident we shall have a tremendous new building for our pupils to enjoy thanks to their hard work. They were kind enough to provide us with a real Christmas tree to enjoy last term, and we can’t wait to see what the Morgan Sindall Easter Bunny will bring!”
