New Hailsham college buildings are finished five weeks early

Hailsham Community College Academy Trust (HCCAT) was built by Morgan Sindall Construction’s Southern Home Counties.

The new three-story development was opened with representatives from the college, Morgan Sindall Construction, East Sussex County Council and Hailsham Mayor Paul Holbrook.

The day included a barbecue and an 11-a-side football match between the school and the Morgan Sindall Construction team.

HCCAT now has an extra 22 classrooms, a flood-lit all-weather pitch, a new facility for students with special needs and a refurbished Sixth Form Centre and library – creating space for 400 more pupils.

This is the second project being delivered by the Southern Home Counties business for ESCC after Hailsham Primary Academy in 2019.

Guy Hannell from Morgan Sindall Construction said: “It has been a privilege to deliver another important school development for East Sussex County Council and continue to help them meet the educational demands of the local area.

“Our team enjoyed a strong, collaborative partnership with Hailsham Community College Academy Trust and all the academy’s stakeholders throughout the project. This close and creative working relationship meant that we could deliver new educational capabilities tailored to the local area’s current and future needs while simultaneously creating a significant amount of social value for the community at each stage of the build.”

Phil Matthews, executive principal at Hailsham Community College Academy Trust, said: “What has been accomplished over the past two years has been quite remarkable at a time of dealing with a global pandemic but still managing to keep the various aspects of the project on track in a ‘live’ and active school.

“Our relationship with Morgan Sindall Construction goes back five years across the primary school development and then this current project. Throughout this time, we have found them to be highly professional and considerate to the needs of the college and the fact that they have managed to deliver this project ahead of schedule is impressive under the circumstances.”

Alice Smyth, East Sussex County Council project manager, said: “Having now worked with Morgan Sindall Construction on several jobs for East Sussex County Council, I have come to have full confidence in their ability to deliver not only the client brief but also engage fully to the complete satisfaction of all stakeholders.”

More education news in Eastbourne