North Birmingham Academy

CWM Project

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North Birmingham Academy was first built over 10 years ago, and as the surrounding community continued to increase, Birmingham City Council needed to respond to the increased demand for school places. Therefore, a new extension block was constructed to supplement the existing school; addressing the need to maximise school places within the community. North Birmingham Academy will now accommodate an extra 300 students, taking the overall student capacity to 1,450. The extension also accommodates new services such as laboratories, specialist science classrooms, offices, and general classrooms for the secondary school. Along with the construction of the new block, the team also carried out refurbishment to the existing school, whilst providing a new sports field.

The project, procured through the CWM framework and designed by Glancy Nicholls Architect, exemplifies the significance of early procurement and collaborative efforts. Birmingham City Council engaged with Morgan Sindall during the preconstruction phase to successfully deliver the new extension and refurbishment. Collaboration among the team, including Acivico, Copeland Wedge Associates, Couch Perry Wilkes, and ORBS, ensured the project was completed on time, on budget, and with a 10/10 client satisfaction score. The new facility was thoughtfully designed to connect with the existing school, using cladding and brickwork to match the original building and building within the slope of the existing school grounds to achieve the same height.

Sustainability

The project team took part in the 10 Tonne Challenge; a challenge where project teams work with consultants and supply chain, to find intelligent solutions that reduce carbon from the project by a minimum of 10 tonnes. This was achieved by:

• Being a ‘Diesel-Free Site’ by only using HVO fuel and electric plants

• The concrete was delivered to site in an ‘Emixer’, the UK’s first electric ready mix concrete truck

• Changing the Portland Cement specification to a low carbon concrete for the foundations

A total 113T of carbon was saved on the project, calculated using CarboniCa.

Social Value Impact

North Birmingham Academy has left a legacy within Erdington Birmingham, reinvesting £6m back into the local community.

Along with many charitable initiatives supported by the project team including the Business Fives Charity Football Tournament, which the project team won and donated their £350 prize to the Birmingham Women’s & Children’s Hospital Charity. And a 500km run in partnership with the school which raised £2,330 for Prostate Cancer UK.

To help educate and support the next generation into the Built Environment, the project team built and donated two timber frame construction walls to the school for the students. Allowing them to practice activities such as tiling to supplement their learning of construction.