NOTTS SCHOOL TO OFFER MORE PUPIL PLACES WITH NEW EXTENSION

A NOTTINGHAMSHIRE school for pupils with special educational needs has increased its intake thanks to a £2.3m extension funded by Nottinghamshire County Council and delivered by Midlands-based construction company G F Tomlinson.

Ash Lea School in Cotgrave is a community special school for pupils aged between three and 19 with complex learning difficulties. Having previously taken on 72 pupils in total, extension and refurbishment works completed last month mean that the school now has space for an additional 18 pupils, taking the total capacity to 90.

G F Tomlinson delivered a two storey extension to replace two mobile buildings, as well as additional car parking spaces, an outdoor play area and security fencing.

Dawn Wigley, headteacher at Ash Lea School, said: “The extension and the refurbishment of the main building comes after three and a half years of hard work by the staff, governors pupils, parents and community. We are all over the moon with the finished school and delighted that the pupils will have the environment they all deserve.”

Andy Sewards, managing director of G F Tomlinson said: “We’re proud to have delivered these vital facilities for Ash Lea, who will now be able to offer their extraordinary support to many more young people from the local community.

“We were also able to provide skills and training opportunities for some of our apprentices. Four apprentices worked on site and another colleague also completed their NVQ training during the project.”

The scheme was delivered with Arc Partnership under Scape Group’s empa framework, which has since been superseded by Scape’s Regional Construction framework, which G F Tomlinson was successfully appointed to earlier this year.

Sara Williams, commercial manager from Arc Partnership said: “Projects such as these make a real difference to the young people attending the school. Our close working relationship with G F Tomlinson has delivered a very successful building and we’re delighted that the school are so happy with the result.”

Find out more about G F Tomlinson at www.gftomlinson.co.uk or join the conversation at @GFTomlinson.