The new £25 million Mercia School in Sheffield, UK has opened for learning in time for the new school year. Mott MacDonald provided multidisciplinary engineering services to BAM Construction during the construction of the facility, which will help the city meet the needs of its growing pupil population.
Mercia School offers a high-quality teaching environment for 1200 pupils aged between 11-18 years old. As well as a new three-storey building, the school features a new sport pitch, which has been designed to the latest Sport England standards and will be available for the local community to use. Other construction works include a sustainable urban drainage system, which is an integral part of the landscape that blends the school into its parkland setting.
Mott MacDonald delivered detailed civil, structural, mechanical, electrical and public health engineering on the project, as well as fire, acoustic, environmental and transport advisory services. The consultancy has been involved in the project from its early stages, working with Sheffield City Council to undertake the feasibility design up to and including the full planning submission.
Ian Besford, Mott MacDonald’s project director, said: “Mercia School’s tight construction schedule and site constraints made for a very challenging delivery programme. However, by carefully considering the position and height of the building and using techniques such as dynamic ground compaction to reduce the amount of material that needed to be removed, we have been able to deliver a state-of-the-art facility which sits well within its surroundings and achieves the council’s aspirations within its budget and timeframe.”
“Over the last 10 years we have helped to build or redevelop 12 local secondary schools, making a huge contribution to the prospects and potential of thousands of children in Sheffield. We are proud to add Mercia School to our portfolio.” Ian added.