Construction work progresses at multi-million pound secondary school for 1,200 students on edge of Northampton

Works are well underway to build a brand new secondary school for more than 1,000 students on the edge of Northampton.

Construction work began in March on the multi-million pound ‘Northampton School’ for 1,200 students in Thorpeville, near Moulton.

Now three months into the build, the school seems to be progressing well, with a large red two-storey structure being developed.

Matthew Edwards, headteacher designate for Northampton School, said: “Construction is going well and is on track for the completion date in April 2024.

“Steel work has been put up for the sports hall and fitness/dance studios.

“The modular construction means that all units are being made off-site, transported to Moulton and then fitted out and finished in situ.

“Delivery and craning in of the modules is taking place on a daily basis so already the school is starting to take shape and is changing rapidly each week with two storeys already in place adjacent to the sports hall.

“This week work has also started on the playing fields so that they will be ready for our opening next year.”

The school, for both boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 16, is being funded by the Government and run by Northampton School for Boys (NSB) Academy Trust, with no interference from the local authority, thus making it a 'free school'.

The Department for Education (DfE) and the site’s building contractors, Algeco, have confirmed that the school will be completed by summer 2024. According to Algeco, the published contract value for the site is £27.6million.

Until the school is complete, students starting in September 2023 will attend temporary accommodation at Northampton School For Boys in Billing Road.

A Northampton School for Boys (NSB) Academy Trust spokesman said: "The new school will help meet the significant additional need in the area for secondary school places due to growth in the town's primary school population and to the extensive new housing being built in and around Northampton."

Plans to build the school were approved by WNC in February 2022.

Several sites were considered by the DfE but the 24-acre plot in Thorpeville, provided by West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), was deemed the most suitable.

WNC cabinet member for finance Malcolm Longley previously said: “We believe that providing this land is an excellent opportunity to secure a new school in an area where one is needed.”

The scheme will see the school leased to the provider on a 125-year agreement with a peppercorn rent.

Nearby, thousands of homes are being built as part of the Overstone Gate housing development just off the A43.

Also nearby, plans were refused in October to allow a Burger King, Costa Coffee and 24/7 BP petrol station to open on land at the corner of Sywell Road and Kettering Road (A43).

A council spokesman said there was “insufficient information submitted to determine whether the proposed uses within the local centre would result in unacceptable noise levels within the surrounding residential development”.