Following full planning permission from North Northamptonshire Council, BAM Construction is beginning work on Weldon Village Academy, a new co-educational secondary school which is to be situated on land east of Weldon village, near Corby.

BAM has been appointed to the £30 million scheme by the Department for Education (DfE) under its national education framework. The school will be operated by the Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (CMAT).

The new 8 form school is being built to meet the increased demand for pupil places in the area by providing 1,200 places for students in Years 7 to 11 and 300 post-16 places. The school is expected to be completed in time for the beginning of the academic year in 2023.

The new three storey school building will feature two teaching wings stemming from the main building spine, creating a protected courtyard. The rear of the building form will link to the school’s sports and recreation facilities that will include a sports hall, a four court multi-use games area, two full-sized football pitches and three five-a-side pitches.

The school will also provide safe, dedicated access to parking and drop off areas, as well as well as cycle and pedestrian links to the main building entrances and sports areas. A new roundabout will also be created on the A427 Oundle Road to support easy access to the new school.

The site layout will retain as much of the existing vegetation within the site as possible, as an integral part of the landscape scheme that will also incorporate a comprehensive sustainable drainage system. 

Cllr Scott Edwards, North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive member for Children, Families, Education and Skills, said: ‘One of the statutory duties of the council is to provide a sufficient number of school places in North Northants so I’m delighted that we’ve been able to work towards this with the provision of this new secondary school.

‘Going forward, our growing area means that we are continually faced with the challenge of providing more school places in the future and we will continue to fulfil our role to work with our partners to make this happen.’

‘Having recently completed three successful projects in the East Midlands under the DfE’s national education framework, we are delighted to have been chosen for another flagship scheme for the region. 

‘Our education sector expertise has established BAM as a leading provider of education schemes in the region and, once again, sustainability will be central to our approach as we look to create a school that features eco-efficient features including hybrid façade ventilation units, heat recovery on ventilation systems, sustainable urban drainage features and low carbon technologies and daylight linking lighting.’

Dave Ellis

Regional Director, BAM Midlands

Mark Woods, Chief Executive Officer of CMAT said: ‘The new school and its state-of-the-art facilities will help our young people foster a lifelong love of learning, and ensure they develop the necessary skills required to become resilient, independent and confident learners. Together with the Department for Education and other project partners, we look forward to delivering a high-quality education provision for the whole of the Weldon and Corby community to enjoy and benefit from.’ 

Key Midlands-based education sector projects already completed by BAM in the Midlands, and with a combined value of £65 million, include; Derby Cathedral School, a three-story, 1,200 place 6FE secondary school with sixth form; Castle Mead Academy in Leicester, a 1,200 place 8FE school built on a brown-field site that was formerly home to the Kirby and West Dairy; and Avanti Fields School, a new build Hindu faith school built on a green field site on the outskirts of Leicester. BAM is also behind the DfE pathfinder school, Southam College, which will be one of the UK’s most sustainable schools on its completion.