New Teaching Facilities Within a Live Secondary School Campus

Abbeywood Community School required significant expansion to accommodate 1,500 pupils, delivered through a phased programme of new construction and refurbishment. The scheme included an extension to the existing sports hall, reconfiguration and upgrading of the changing block, and construction of a new two‑storey teaching building providing ten modern classrooms.

Craddys were appointed at RIBA Stage 2 by the client team and were later novated to Morgan Sindall at the end of Stage 4, with the contractor closely involved throughout under a PCSA. Craddys delivered full civil and structural engineering design and also acted as temporary works designer for the contractor. The project was successfully completed six weeks ahead of programme.

Key challenges included working in close proximity to an Environment Agency culvert, requiring careful consideration of building siting and construction methodology. Operating within a live school environment demanded rigorous planning and coordination. The design exceeded the project’s stringent embodied‑carbon targets through early specification of electric‑arc furnace steelwork and optimised concrete mix designs developed collaboratively with the contractor and supply chain.