Churchill Academy, Science and Technology Facility

Churchill Academy was a casualty towards the end of the Building Schools for the Future Programme, earmarked for new school facilities just as the initiative was scrapped following a change in Government. Conscious that the opportunity for a complete new build was lost, Quattro was selected by the Academy to create a Premises Development Plan (PDP) for the school that could be implemented through phased funding.

Working with a core group of governors, staff and students, this strategic plan developed by Quattro’s education architects and has been used by the Academy to inform development decisions and identify projects for funding opportunities over the past 5 years. During that time Churchill Academy has been successful in securing over £8 million of CIF funding for 4 separate projects from the Education and Skills Funding Agency with Quattros assistance leading the CIF bidding, project design and delivery.

The most recently completed project involved the block replacement of a large part of the Academy which accommodates the Science and Technology departments.

The strategic approach adopted by Quattro saw the phased demolition of this part of the school and its replacement with a state-of-the-art facility incorporating 14 Science and Food Technology classrooms.

The design of the new Science and Technology Centre followed a fabric first approach. The building incorporates high levels of thermal insulation, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, and an additional natural ventilation strategy which enables purge venting of the building during the summer months.

The Academy is further supported by an exceptionally large photo voltaic array located on the roof of the facility which enables the building to be self-sustaining in terms of electrical energy whilst, offering pay-back provision outside of term time.