The new Abbey Court School has transformed a redundant secondary school site, developing 27,676m2 of state-of-the-art school facilities, external areas and staff parking. A Sports Hall, Assembly Hall and Hydrotherapy Pool provision create a central shared spine between the primary phase and future secondary phase. Pupils are accommodated in mixed need 8-9 pupil classrooms with up to 4 staff.

The focus at Abbey Court is to deliver a flexible, personalised approach in order to meet the wide range of learning difficulties and individual needs, ensuring that all pupils maximise their progress and personal achievement in relation to their abilities. This ‘whole person’ multi-agency philosophy helped inform and develop the layout for the new school building with input from teaching staff, therapists, pupils, parents, governors, user groups and the local community.

Previously procured via two stage framework, the project was £1m over budget and client/contractor could not reach
agreement, therefore the contract was re-tendered via the open market. Neilcott impressed the client team by identifying creative value management solutions at tender stage to secure appointment and unlock delivery. We developed a CLT solution to achieve the required savings without reducing the scope of the project, also offering a reduced construction time to enable completion within 12 months.

“Neilcott proactively engaged with the school to develop a specialist understanding of the educational needs of its pupils. By taking an active role Neilcott delivered a high-quality specialist building that provides the highest standard in education and support.”  Lewis Small – Head of Operations, Medway Council