Marleigh Primary Academy, Cambridge

The eastern fringes of Cambridge will be welcoming a brand-new community which will comprise of over 1,300 new homes. To ensure the best educational experience for those in the area, a new local facility would become a crucial cog for the development. Delivered through the Cambridge County Council framework, Marleigh Primary Academy will become the heartbeat of this community; by providing 420 primary school places and 52 nursery places.

Key Stats

Construction of a new 420 place primary school and a 52-place nursery
BREEAM Very Good
Customer Satisfaction 10/10
98% Waste Diverted from Landfill
New school in the centre of a 1,300-house development
Cambridgeshire County Council Framework

At a Glance

Client

Cambridgeshire County Council

Budget

£10 million

Completion

July 2022

Location

Cambridge

Framework

Cambridgeshire County Council Framework

Sector

Education

Social value

£9.8 million

Our Approach

Marleigh Primary Academy which is part of the Anglian Learning and Multi-academy Educational Trust, visualised a school to not only be an embodiment of the new community, but also the city of Cambridge. As such, Marleigh Primary Academy will have a specific focus on Science Technology Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) subjects which celebrates Cambridges continued brilliance in those subjects. The building which presents an abundance of natural light and outdoor learning spaces has been carefully designed to stimulate creative thinking for the pupils.

Targeting BREEAM Very Good

The council required a building which would be future proof and sustainable whilst complimenting the new community. Therefore, a key focus became ensuring the project would achieve BREEAM Very Good, which, it has through several demands.

Maximising the natural daylight in the building was vital. Glazed areas were optimised which balanced the demands of daylighting and thermal performance in the building. The main teaching spaces on both the ground and first floors are north facing with high ceilings. This feature has allowed for daylight from the tall windows to filter throughout the building to the back rooms which has saved the use of excessive electricity. The new artificial lighting consists of efficient LED luminaires and is controlled by absence/presence detection to again, avoid unnecessary consumption of electricity.

The ventilation and insulation of classrooms was another fundamental consideration required for the BREEAM Very Good accreditation. The increased height to the classrooms follows the pitched roof profile, and with the opening rooflights, it provides cross ventilation which prevents overheating to the rooms. The materials used for exterior and interior walls are also 'A' rated in the BREEAM Green Guide, which means that all the classrooms are compliant with the overheating requirements.

Bespoke Machinery

The team constructed the school using a Beam and Block concrete floor design which proved to be challenging when working at a high level. Beam and Block floor is not suited to irregular plan shapes that require many special-shaped units which this project had, particularly the higher the building went. Not only did the building have a unique architectural roof design (to match with the general landscaping of the masterplan) there was also limited floor weight for machines. The team overcame this by using a semi-electric scissor lift from Germany which had the appropriate reach for the roof and weight that the Beam and Block floor could support.

Social Impact

The Marleigh Primary Academy project has gone a long way to generate a substantial amount of value back into the community. With over £9.8m generated, over 90% of the budget went back into directly impacting the local community. There was a combined total of 132 beneficiaries from this project alone which included supporting two apprentices from Morgan Sindall and 12 apprentices across our supply chain. Mentoring opportunities were also presented to employees to further their career development.

The team supported several charitable causes throughout the life of this project. We had members of the team participate in a sleepout to raise awareness and money for youth homelessness. A total of £350 had been raised for this significant cause which was donated to the YMCA. Several cancer charities were also supported via a sponsored 5-day walk set up by Lee Walker which raised over £11k.

Pupils from Fen Ditton school had the opportunity to sit down and interview our team along with the sub contractors and other parties involved on the project. The young students were inquisitive and learnt plenty about the world of construction.

I just wanted to say well done to you (Gareth Harris) and your team for the handover of the new school today. It looked great and I was very impressed with the finish… it is a great achievement through a difficult couple of years” – Vikki Spittle's, Education Capital Projects Officer