New educational and recreational facilities for St Cuthbert’s RC School

An image of the completed project at St Cuthbert’s

Work is set to get underway at St Cuthbert’s RC High School in Rochdale to provide new educational and recreational facilities.

The design for the new campus has been based around the school’s plans for future curriculum delivery, and will see the construction of a new three storey building while some of the existing buildings will be retained and undergo a major refurbishment.

The new building will be located further away from Shaw Road, which has provided the opportunity to create a new main entrance to the school and also creates a more open approach.

In addition, the location of the new three storey block means that the school can continue to operate as normal during the construction period without any need for additional temporary accommodation.

The new building will provide state of the art facilities for specialist subject areas, including a new technology department with bespoke art, textiles, graphics, food and resistant material spaces alongside a science hub of laboratories and teaching spaces. The top floor of the new teaching block will be dedicated to humanities, supported by enriched IT areas with an external terrace.

Part of the existing buildings will be remodelled to provide a new Learning & Resource Centre as well as drama, performance and other larger group spaces. Sports facilities will be retained in their current locations on the site but will be refurbished. A new dedicated access to these facilities, adjacent to car parking provision, will also be created to support community use after school hours.

In addition to improving the educational facilities on site, all areas have been designed with a view to improving access and circulation around the site while the new campus design will provide further opportunities for community and external agency access to the facilities. 

The more social areas of the school, such as dining, have been reviewed to ensure that students can enjoy high quality spaces throughout the whole school day – from breakfast clubs through to after school activities.

The main construction works are due to start in September 2012 with the new school to be handed over ready for the term beginning in September 2014. Some early mobilisation work has already started in order to prepare the site ready for construction. Once the school are settled in their new accommodation, the remainder of the existing buildings will be demolished to allow the final phase of landscaping works to be completed by November 2014. Areas of mature landscaping on site will be retained.