VIPs officially open Coventry’s pioneering net zero school

Staff and students from a newly-rebuilt Coventry academy welcomed VIPs to help officially launch the £38 million building – which is one of the nation’s first net zero schools.

The new home of West Coventry Academy – which is part of the respected Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP) – boasts state-of-the-art facilities, with an impressive sports hall and swimming pool.

The academy, in Tile Hill Lane, Coventry, is one of ten pioneering projects nationwide which are building new schools that not only produce near net zero emissions but are erected using materials with a lower carbon content.

The new Coventry school has also used modern techniques to be built at an astonishing rate – with ground broken on the new project just two years ago, in September 2021. Since then, the new building has been taking shape while students carried on using the old school site, in Nutbrook Avenue, which will now be demolished to make space for even more new facilities.

On Thursday, September 14, headteacher Ana Neofitou welcomed VIPs from the Department for Education, contractor Bowmer + Kirkland and the ATLP to hear students tell how the new facilities have already transformed their learning experience since it opened at the start of this term.

Mrs Neofitou said: “This new building has transformed the learning environment we are able to provide for all our students.  It has transformed what we can offer to the local community.  It has transformed the working conditions for our staff.”

The proud headteacher joined Sangeeta Redgrave, Regional Head of the Department for Education, to unveil a plaque marking the end of the huge rebuilding project.

Sangeeta Redgrave said: “I’m so proud to be involved in this project – it’s a little bit emotional, actually, to be here. This is an exemplar scheme which we hope to replicate across all of our projects.

“The project has been so impactful because of the teamwork involved – we have had a fantastic relationship with the school community, with Bowmer + Kirkland and Mace Group, who managed the project. We all brought our ‘A’ game to this place – and look at what we have achieved.

“We also brought Coventry City Council onboard to make sure that we could integrated with their sports strategy for use of the swimming pool and sports hall. This school rebuild is making an impact in the wider Coventry community.”

ATLP CEO Richard Gill CBE said: “Over the course of this project we have had VIPs visit, including the Education Secretary, but our most important visitors came last week as we welcomed our staff and

children when they first got to see inside this brilliant new building. Clearly, this building will inspire children for many years to come.

“There has been a great deal of effective collaboration between all the parties involved to get us to this moment, and I want to thank everyone at the school and the Department for Education for that.

“I also want to thank the contractors, Bowmer + Kirkland, and every single person who has stepped inside this building during the project, because it hasn’t just been a building site it has been a classroom.

“Those contractors welcomed children onto the building site, all wearing fluorescent jackets and hard hats, to show them their school being built. Some of our students even went out to visit the contractors at their base, to see the panels being designed and manufactured – so the school community really has shared the journey together.

“I also want to thank the staff who have gone above and beyond to do things that have been outside what teachers usually have to do, like packing up the contents of the old building and helping to move it all here.”

West Coventry Academy students also spoke about how the new facilities were already having an inspiration impact.

Year 10 student leader Mia said: “Over the past few days I have been learning where my classrooms are and getting used to the lay-out of the school.

“On my first day I was so excited to see my brand-new school – I remember walking in with my friends and standing there in awe.

“The new journey of our school will be truly amazing and will benefit everyone. It feels like Year 7 all over again, but this time the teachers are getting used to the school as well!

“I feel proud and privileged to be attending West Coventry Academy.”

Sixth former Esme said: “Since moving over to the new building I can visibly see the new opportunities that have risen. On the old site, the sixth form was in a separate block – but it’s really nice to now be in the heart of the school and to use our new many study areas.

“This school represents a new beginning for us as students and brings our school community together, regardless of year.”

Chris Arno, Director of Bowmer + Kirkland, said: “West Coventry Academy was one of the first 10 schools selected as part of the Government’s School Rebuilding Programme, to rebuild 500 schools over a 10-year period.

“All of this at West Coventry was achieved in record time, and we managed to have spades on the ground in September, just nine months after the Prime Minister gave a mandate for the first ten schools.

“Now, here we are two years later to celebrate the opening of the school, after a build done in record time. We would like to express our thanks to the Department of the Education for their leadership and support. They provided unwavering support during the build to enable us to complete six months early.

“We’d like to thank West Coventry Academy and ATLP, and in particular the senior leadership team, who have always made themselves available to discuss and agree matters and come to conclusions swiftly. Their proactive approach is one of the key reasons that we have completed early.

“The Bowmer + Kirkland team have all gone above and beyond to deliver what has been a very large and complex scheme in challenging circumstances to deliver a high-quality building which is net zero carbon in operation and low embodied carbon as well.”

“As well as building a school, we’ve also given back to the community. We contributed £10.5million in value to the local economy during the course of this project, we supported the local foodbank, and we painted the windows of the local community centre.

“At the school, we donated to the year-end prom for the Sixth Form leavers, and we provided apprenticeship and team learning opportunities right throughout the project.”

Images:

Please credit Mark Averill/AVITMEDIA

Captions:

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VIPs and staff at the official opening of the new £38 million West Coventry Academy building.

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The plaque that was unveiled.

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The state-of-the-art facility is one of ten pioneering near net zero schools.

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The school’s sports hall.

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Students also benefit from a swimming pool at the school.

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The new Coventry school used modern techniques to be built in just two years.