New £25 million Sheffield school reaches major milestone

Mechanical and electrical works for the new four-storey Astrea Academy, in Burngreave, have started.

Teams of engineers from building services specialist NG Bailey will be on site for the next eight months, installing heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, plumbing and water systems, along with a boiler plant and full building management systems. The work also includes sophisticated security, CCTV and fire detection systems.

The new building, together with a refurbishment of the Grade II-listed former Pye Bank School, will provide space for almost 1,500 children and young people aged two to 18.

It will open in September with a small number of staff and children.

Principal Kim Walton said: “The start of the extensive mechanical, electrical and plumbing work is an important milestone for the new school building, which will have state-of-the-art facilities for students and staff alike.

“Our aim is for Astrea Academy Sheffield to be a school that everyone in the Burngreave area can be proud of.”

Chris Catterick, operations director at NG Bailey, said: “This is a fantastic project for NG Bailey to be involved in.

"We’re helping create a high-quality learning environment for many future generations of children in Sheffield.

“Our work on the refurbished primary school will finish next month and we are due to complete all the secondary school works next March, ready for the first intake of students after Easter 2019.”

BBC Radio Sheffield to no longer provide live commentary of Sheffield Wednesday matchesThe new school, which will be run by Astrea Academy Trust, is being built to help alleviate the pressure on school places in the city.

A second school, a 1,200-place Mercia School, for pupils aged 11 to 18, is being built on Carterknowle Road and will also open in September.

Traffic improvements outside both schools have recently been given the green light.

At Astrea Academy, a traffic light controlled pedestrian crossing on Rutland Road and Pitsmoor Road and improvements to the local bus stops will help pupils, staff and visitors to cross safely, Sheffield City Council said.

A new zebra crossing at the main pedestrian entrance and road widening at the Springfield Avenue/Carter Knowle Road junction will help pupils, staff and visitors to cross safely outside Mercia School.

There will also be improvements to two bus stops on Carter Knowle Road and double yellow lines on the south side of Carter Knowle Road, between its junctions with Montrose Road and Springfield Avenue.