Pupils and staff at Badger Hill Primary School are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new school building.
The state of the art modular building is being designed and built by local construction experts Portakabin, which will act as the main contractor for the project. Groundworks to prepare the site have been taking place since February ready for the installation of the new school during the May half term break.
Each of the modular sections will be delivered to the site and craned into place taking less than a week to construct the entire building.
Nick Griffin, General Manager at Portakabin said: “Thanks to the speed of modular construction, Portakabin is able to design, manufacture and install a brand new and completely permanent primary school building by September.”
Plans for the £2.7 million project, funded by the Department for Education, include four classrooms, a main hall, kitchen, staffroom, library, reception area, cloakrooms, toilets and offices.
Portakabin artist’s impression of the new school building
Headteacher, Vicky Whittingham said: “We are all looking forward to this next phase of the project. After more than a year of just looking at plans for the school finally being able to see it in place when we come back from half term is really exciting.”
The new building will be situated on the existing school site and connect to a more modern part of the school which will be refurbished as part of the plans.
Nick Griffin added: “We’ll be refurbishing three classrooms and seamlessly connecting these to the new school. Badger Hill will also benefit from the latest innovation in offsite engineering; our double height modular hall. For us, it’s a fantastic opportunity to deliver an outstanding building to the local community in York.”
The current school, which dates back to the 1960s, has reached the end of its lifespan and is in poor condition. The school and Pathfinder Multi Academy Trust have been working for several years to design a school for the future which will provide a high standard of education to the local community for many years to come.
Vicky Whittingham added: “The new building will allow for a much more flexible way of learning in modern, well equipped classrooms. Having a larger hall will also give us great opportunities for sports and whole school events.”
With the building constructed offsite, the school has been able to remain open throughout the project. Outfitting of the new building will take place throughout the rest of the term and during the summer holidays ready to open to pupils in September. The existing 1960s building will then be demolished to make way for a new playground.
The school has informed local residents that for safety reasons and to prevent any damage to vehicles, parking restrictions will be in place on Sussex Road from Tuesday 28 May to Monday 3 June from 7am to 5pm to allow for the delivery of the modular buildings. The school greatly appreciates the understanding and support of the local community during this time and apologises for any inconvenience this may cause.