Contractor chosen to deliver Burgess Hill’s new ‘ultra-low-carbon’ secondary school

Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd is set to deliver the £57m school with initial work beginning later this year.

The 900-pupil school is planned for the new Brookleigh development, offering secondary places for families living in its 3,500 homes and the wider Burgess Hill area. It will be part of one ‘all-through’ primary and secondary school on two sites called The Bedelands Academy.

Nigel Jupp, WSCC cabinet member for Learning and Skills, said: “The contractor has extensive experience of building high quality, low-carbon schools and their appointment marks a second major milestone in as many months, after planning permission was awarded in December last year. Helping children and young people to fulfil their potential and tackling climate change are two of the Council’s big priorities in Our Council Plan. In creating this innovative new school, we are delivering on those priorities by creating the most environmentally friendly school possible where children will flourish.

“We look forward to working with our partners to deliver these modern and inspiring educational facilities for families in Mid Sussex.”The county council said the school is designed to be net carbon-zero in operation and the first West Sussex school to achieve Passivhaus accreditation. This is the highest standard of energy efficiency that a building can reach.

Richard Poulter, managing director of Willmott Dixon Construction South, said “We are delighted to be working on this Passivhaus project in Burgess Hill. Carbon reduction is hugely important to our business, with the secondary element of the Bedelands Academy being the third Passivhaus school we have delivered in the South of England and the first in West Sussex. The Passivhaus accreditation mirrors the commitments we have set out in our Now or Never strategy, supporting a net zero future by 2030."We are keen to support our customers when they choose to prioritise low or zero carbon options with their projects and are looking forward to partnering with West Sussex County Council in realising its sustainable ambitions.”

West Sussex County Council has committed nearly £40m of funding to design and create the school – the council’s single largest school investment in the past decade – while Homes England is contributing about £18m in developer contributions as well as the land.

The secondary school will have a 16-place Special Support Centre for children with special educational needs and disabilities, plus high quality sports facilities for community use.The county council said ‘climate resilience’ is built into the design of the school. The building aims to be energy-efficient and the plan is for the school to generate its own energy on site without using fossil fuels, producing around 296,000 kWh a year from around 1,000 solar photovoltaic panels. It also aims to keep and enhance the site’s areas of biodiversity while using fresh air ventilation.

The new ‘all-through’ primary and secondary Bedelands Academy will be run by the University of Brighton Academies Trust. The primary school is being developed and funded separately by Homes England, the Brookleigh master developers, on a nearby site. The secondary school is set to open in September 2025.