Wiltshire Council has received permission to increase the capacity of the secondary school as well as boost its facilities
The Sarum Academy expansion will create additional classrooms, improve facilities, and enhance sports facilities at the school located in Salisbury.
The capacity of the school will increase by 300 places, helping to tackle the high demand for secondary school places in the city.
Morgan Sindall will oversee the construction
The project will be delivered in phases, with completion expected by the end of 2027. This project will include:
- Refurbishment of part of the existing teaching block
- Construction of a new two-storey, net zero science block
- A new artificial sports pitch
- Conversion of an existing building for sports and physical education use
- Reconfiguration of teaching spaces to grow from a six to an eight-form entry school, including additional art and music classrooms
Another aspect of this project is Wiltshire Council’s Environmental Policy objectives, and as such, the new science block will be operating at net zero carbon, and sustainability assessments have helped to identify opportunities to reduce energy demand, improve efficiency, and minimise the environmental impact.
CarboniCa, a digital carbon calculation tool, was used to assess the plans for development and to further reduce carbon emissions.
Cllr Jon Hubbard, cabinet member for education and skills, said: “Wiltshire Council is committed to investing in the education of our young people. We carefully plan for future demand so that we can provide as many local school places as possible.
“It is important that young people can attend school in their local community and benefit from excellent facilities that support their learning, wellbeing, and future aspirations.”
Clifford Kinch, area director for Morgan Sindall Construction in the South, said: “The expansion of Sarum Academy is a really exciting project, as we know that it’s going to help futureproof Salisbury’s educational landscape by creating hundreds of new secondary school places. It’ll also be looking after the local community’s future generations in more ways than one, as its net zero design will provide a sustainable, high-end teaching environment for years to come.”
Net zero schools require careful planning
Writing for PBC Today earlier this month, Carl Saxon, regional director at Wallace Whittle, discussed why decisions made at the very start of the planning process are crucial for creating sustainable schools.
Carl wrote: “There is a persistent perception that sustainable schools cost significantly more to deliver, and it is broadly accurate. Not so long ago a school could be built with basic light fittings, a gas boiler, a few radiators and not much else, cheap and cheerful because the public purse demanded it. However, since 2021 the Department for Education (DfE) has required new schools to be net zero carbon in operation, without offsite offsetting. In February this year, the DfE replaced its output specification with new design standards under its Construction Framework 2025, and while the detail has changed, the standards remain considerably more onerous than standard building regulations.
“So, it is no longer about whether to build sustainable schools; it’s instead about how to make them affordable when both school budgets and design budgets are already severely constrained. This leads to a question the industry rarely asks: why does every school get designed from scratch?”
Read his full thoughts here.
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