Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School and Hartsdown Academy have been handed back to the Department for Education, just in time to welcome students back
Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School is a 1,100-pupil capacity school, which provides 7,500m² of teaching space across a range of traditional classrooms and learning areas with specialist areas for art, science and technology.
Kier is still onsite delivering phase 2 of the works which includes the demolition of the existing school buildings and the construction of a new staff car park.
Kier worked collaboratively with Kent County Council’s planning and heritage team to ensure that homage would be paid to the original school building which had stood strong for over 80 years.
Offsite construction
Kier constructed a brand-new three-storey teaching block, installed a pre-fabricated modular building and demolished existing buildings on site.
The Academy wanted to extend its science and music facilities, as well as expanding on support facilities for SEN students, students with hearing difficulties and those pupils reliant on ICT equipment for writing.
Kier constructed specifically assigned SEN rooms and a hearing loop system; a specialised sound facility used by people who are hard of hearing.
There are now brand-new ICT spaces provided for students.
Supporting local people
Richard Bysouth, operations director at Kier Regional Building London and South East, said: “We’re delighted to hand both projects over to the Department for Education and Kent County Council in time for schools to reopen.
“Throughout the projects, it has been a priority for us to support the local communities and we have been able to support a number of local people with employment and training opportunities, including five apprenticeships, and we have also worked with our specialist localised supply chain partners who are based throughout Kent.
“Working collaboratively with both the Department for Education and Kent County Council allowed us to deliver first-class learning facilities that will benefit pupils, their families and the local communities at both schools for years to come.”
