McLaren to build Hoddesdon school

McLaren Construction has been selected to build the £11.4m High Leigh Primary School in Hoddesdon.The new two-form entry primary school for 420 pupils aged 4-11 will have an integrated 30-place nursery. It replaces the existing one-form entry Westfield Community Primary School in Hoddesdon and provides additional space to serve the new High Leigh Garden Village, where it sits. The scheme includes a car park, sport pitches and soft landscaping.The new school will be built using structural insulated panels (SIPs) between concrete floors. The SIPs are produced by Coventry-based Innovaré Systems, which was acquired by Bowmer & Kirkland from the Osborne Group last year.The timber panels provide thermal and acoustic insulation and fire resistance, and enable the structure of the building to take shape rapidly.McLaren was appointed by the council through the Department for Education framework. The contractor won a place to deliver medium value contracts in London, the southeast and east of England in 2021 and has worked with Hertfordshire to bring an existing planning consent up to latest specifications.McLaren divisional director for education Tony Whyte said: “High Leigh will quickly take shape now and that is the result of an effective partnership between Hertfordshire, its designers and contractor to update a 2020 planning consent and get back on schedule to deliver much-needed new school places.”Budgets are always tight in the public sector and the education authority needs the confidence that a quality learning environment for pupils can be created within agreed costs. We can give that confidence through our experience of building many schools for all ages, alongside sports or science facilities and buildings designed for pupils with special needs.”