Work has begun on building some of the UK’s first net-zero schools, as the Department of Education’s (DfE) pushes forward with its Schools Rebuilding Programme.
Lytham St Annes High School, Littleborough Community Primary School and Nursery, and Whitworth Community High School are the first to be built as part of the 10-year programme.
Procured via the DfE’s Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Framework, they are part of a batch of six schools that Wates Construction was contracted to deliver in January 2020.
The schools are set to be net-zero in operation and among the first to be built by Wates to such standards.
To deliver the schools, says it will be using its Adapt solution, a component-based school kit that offers a more sustainable method of construction.
Due to its emphasis on offsite manufacture, Wates says the kit will ensure less waste and a higher-quality finish.
The schools
Lytham St Annes High School in Lancashire will feature a new two-storey main school block and detached sports hall, with work due to be completed in 2023.
All new build elements will be net-zero carbon in operation, achieved through a combination of enhanced building fabric, passive ventilation chimneys, mechanical heat recovery systems, and onsite offsetting of energy use.
Whitworth Community High School, also in Lancashire, will feature a new 750-place secondary school, comprising a two and three-storey main teaching block with classrooms, main hall, specialist technology spaces.
A minimum of 70% of the building’s PMV (pre-manufactured value) will be constructed using offsite manufacturing techniques, while other sustainable aspects of the build will feature roof-mounted photovoltaics, biosolar green roofs, heat recovery systems, sustainable drainage systems, offsite engineered thermal envelope, and electrical car charging points.
Littleborough Community Primary School in Greater Manchester will feature a two-storey building built within the existing Littleborough campus.
The sustainable design includes an optimised thermal envelope with increased insulation and triple-glazed windows; optimised window sizes to maximise daylighting, together with rooflights and lightwells, enhanced ventilation with openable windows to classrooms; and solar panels.
Image: A CGI rendering of Whitworth Community High School
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