£2.6m extension to South Nottinghamshire College, Radcliffe, officially opens

A special event marked the official opening of a new £2.6m building at an academy.

Students joined school staff and governors, local dignitaries and people directly involved with the project to take a grand tour of the new facility at South Nottinghamshire Academy in Radcliffe.

The extension, which has cost £2.6m, was funded jointly through Redhill Academy Trust, Nottinghamshire County Council and Section 106 funds made available through building development locally.

It will provide much-needed additional space, meaning the academy can continue to meet the growing demand for school places in the local area.

South Nottinghamshire Academy will now be able to accommodate 950 students from Years 7 to 13.

Dan Philpotts, executive headteacher at South Nottinghamshire Academy, said: "The new Maple building accommodation will provide our school community with a long-lasting, modern-day facility that will undoubtedly enhance students’ educational experience. We are so proud of our first-class facilities, and we look forward to a very exciting future."

Andrew Burns, chief executive of Redhill Academy Trust, said: “We are all pleased to see the continued popularity and demand for places at the South Nottinghamshire Academy. These great new facilities will help our students achieve their very best.”

Key points:

• The building is a two-storey block design which meets the educational needs of both current students and future generations.

• On the ground floor, five classrooms have been allocated to the Humanities faculty.

• The first floor provides three classrooms (two for ICT), two smaller seminar classrooms and a Common Room area.

• The building has two stairwells, toilets on each floor and office spaces designed for passive supervision.

• The build was undertaken by main contractor G F Tomlinson and project managed by Pulse Consultants.

• Since work started on site in Spring 2022, operatives from G F Tomlinson worked a total of 33,515 hours on site.

• A massive 530 tonnes of concrete have been poured and 148 glazed panels installed.

• 100% of all warm air generated in the building is processed through heat recovery units and reused in the building to make it highly efficient.

• G F Tomlinson also partnered with the academy to enhance students’ awareness and understanding of careers in construction. Representatives took part in a careers fair, mock interview day and welcomed students for informative site visits.

The Maple building follows further recent investment at South Nottinghamshire Academy by the trust, including a 3G artificial floodlit sports pitch, a new school minibus and an outdoor shelter big enough to protect 150 students from the elements.

Emma Swatton, head girl, said: “The new building has given us the freedom and ability to work collaboratively and achieve our full potential as students at South Nottinghamshire Academy.”

Joe White, head boy, said: “The new Maple Building is an incredible facility. It is new, fresh and exciting and it feels really special to use the space to enhance our education.”