Work has started onsite at Burlington Junior School to deliver major upgrades that will increase the New Malden school’s capacity and provide new, high-end educational facilities.
Morgan Sindall Construction has been appointed by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames to deliver the project, which will add 120 additional pupil places and help meet a demand for student places within the growing borough.
Procured through the Southern Construction Framework (SCF), the multi-phased project will enable the continued delivery of high-quality education in a more modern and sustainable environment by refurbishing the existing Victorian building and constructing a 2,800 sq. m structure.
The new three-storey building will feature a sports hall and 15 high-specification teaching rooms. Contracted works will also see the development of two multi-use games areas (MUGA), hard and soft landscaping, and the demolition of a 1970’s CLASP building, which will be replaced by a 60-space car park for the benefit of both the Junior and Infant and Nursery schools.
As part of the works, several toilet areas will be refurbished for the neighbouring Burlington Infant School. Morgan Sindall will also install 72 photovoltaic (PV) panels across the site, to support the project’s aims of achieving an Excellent BREEAM score.
In line with the tier one contractor’s Intelligent Solutions approach, it will be utilising Hempcrete in the construction as an innovative method to reduce the school’s carbon footprint. Hempcrete is a medium density natural insulation material produced by wet-mixing hemp shiv with lime binder, with impressive thermal and sustainability properties.
As part of Morgan Sindall’s commitment to delivering social value to the communities in which it operates, the project team is already engaging with the local New Malden community. The team are organising workshops and career opportunities alongside the independent not-for-profit organisation Women into Construction, which provides bespoke support to women wishing to work in the construction industry.
As the building work will be undertaken alongside a live school environment, Morgan Sindall’s experienced project team will schedule and manage the construction activity to ensure minimal disruption to the school’s daily teaching and operations.
Morgan Sindall is working alongside TPM studios (architects), Shockledge (structural) and Boon Brown (landscape architects) on the development.
Richard Dobson, Area Director at Morgan Sindall Construction in London, said: “We are delighted to be starting work on this extensive upgrade project at Burlington Junior School, as we know it is going to deliver a wide variety of important benefits for those working, living, and learning in the area. Our collaborative relationship with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames has been central to this development and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with them at a time of real excitement and ambition across the borough.
“The team at Morgan Sindall understands the importance of high-quality educational facilities that foster a creative and inspiring learning environment. To achieve this, we’ll leverage our extensive expertise in delivering high-end learning spaces and the design will utilise a range of innovative, highly sustainable materials.”
Robert Shankland, Project Manager at Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, said: “Delivering high quality education and supporting opportunities for children and young people across the borough is one of our top priorities as we look to create a fairer Kingston. Providing the best facilities for that to take place is very important, and we are pleased to have experts like Morgan Sindall on board to help us create sustainable spaces that can help more of our children and young people flourish.”
