Construction of the 900-pupil school, Bedelands Academy in Burgess Hill, is set to start later this year. It will provide secondary school education for families living in the new Brookleigh development as well as across the wider Burgess Hill area.
With nearly 1,000 solar photovoltaic panels expected to generate 296,000 kWh of energy a year, the school is designed to be net carbon-zero in operation and become the first school in the county to achieve Passivhaus accreditation.
Faithful & Gould, Atkins and Cundalls has led the design work for the council.
West Sussex County Council has committed £39m towards the project cost, with an additional £18m coming from developer contributions.
The University of Brighton Academies Trust will run the new school as part of an ‘all-through’ primary and secondary school named The Bedelands Academy. The primary element is being developed and funded separately by Homes England on a nearby site.
The target is to have it built and ready for its first cohort of around 120 year-seven students in September 2025.
Willmott Dixon has developed a track-record of Passivhaus projects in recent years. Last month it was appointed by the University of Exeter to build a multi-faith centre to Passivhaus standards.
It has also built Spelthorne Leisure Centre, student accommodation at St Peter’s College in Oxford, Hackbridge Primary School and Harris Academy, both in Sutton, and the George Davies Centre for the University of Leicester.
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