The major housing development at Harrier Park in Hucknall has created an increased demand for local school places.

To meet the need and create a focal point for this growing community, Nottinghamshire County Council asked us to deliver a new, state-of-the-art primary school.

It’s a project we’re proud to have been part of, working with the Flying High Academy Trust, Kier, the housing developer and the Council to design, project manage and deliver the school.

The Harrier Park development sits on the site of a former RAF base and features 900 new homes, a care home, a business park, green spaces and a range of community amenities.

For its new school, our architects took inspiration from the park’s aerospace heritage and nearby listed buildings, incorporating a curved roof in keeping with the Rolls-Royce aerodrome and local aircraft hangars.

We began design work in 2018, with the first pupils starting at the school in September 2019. The finished, two-storey school welcomes 210 primary pupils and provides 26 nursery places. There’s also capacity to expand the school as the Harrier Park community grows, with plans laid out for up to 315 school places.

The new school operates as an academy, so we worked closely with both the Flying High Academy Trust and their newly appointed head teacher. Together, we’ve delivered their vision of a modern building that reflects the architectural heritage of the local area and its celebrated aerospace industry.

Pupil safety is always a huge consideration for our projects, so our works extended beyond the school fence to include a range of traffic safety measures; including installing zebra crossings around the school to make the journey to and from the park’s new homes safer for children and parents.

The £3.7 million project to deliver Hucknall Flying High Academy was completed in autumn 2019. As well as meeting the trust’s school place requirements, it provides an outstanding community building and a superb learning environment for local children.