The High School Leckhampton named Education Project of the Year
The new £35 million carbon neutral school in the south of Cheltenham was funded by Gloucestershire County Council and opened in September 2022 after opening on a temporary site at Balcarras Academy for one year.
Michelmores Property Awards celebrates outstanding property and construction projects throughout the South West. It recognised the work to deliver the project, praising the team behind it for overcoming significant challenges and responding to a genuine need within the local community. The school demonstrates high quality architecture and design, fitting seamlessly into its natural surroundings.
The awards were held on Thursday 22 June at Sandy Park Conference Centre, in Exeter, and were hosted by former breakfast television presenter Louise Minchin.
The secondary school has state-of-the-art facilities, including six science labs, 10 ICT suites, a music suite, drama studio and a 400-seat auditorium. Its sports facilities include a full-size floodlit Astro-turf pitch, grass playing fields, sports hall, fitness suite and six outdoor tennis tables.
The school opened to Year 7 pupils only in September 2021 as a 4 forms of entry school, this will rise to 5 and then 6 forms of entry with an eventual capacity of 900.
The school is run by Balcarras Academy Trust. Balcarras is a highly successful 11-18 school situated in the heart of the Charlton Kings area of east Cheltenham. Consistently rated outstanding by Ofsted, it has also been recognised by The Sunday Times as the most successful comprehensive school in the South West in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and has been named as The Sunday Times Southwest State Secondary School of the Decade in 2020.
The school was funded by Gloucestershire County Council and built by the contractors Kier Construction. It was designed by AHR Architects.
Cllr Philip Robinson, Cabinet member responsible for education at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “This £35 million school is a significant part of the council’s investment into our county’s schools as part of our commitment to provide the best environments for our children and young people to achieve their potential.
“I am delighted that the team behind this project has been recognised for its hard work in delivering a fantastic school allowing pupils access to high quality education.”
Andy Bolas, Regional Director for Kier Construction Western & Wales, said: “We are extremely proud to have built The High School Leckhampton, a new school which has state-of-the art facilities for students. Collaboration is at the heart of this project, with all parties working together to provide learning spaces for students to thrive.
“We are delighted this project has been recognised by the Michelmores as its education project of the year and we hope the facilities continue to support learning for students in south Cheltenham for years to come.”
Dominic Burke, CEO of Balcarras Academy Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted that The High School Leckhampton has been recognised by winning this terrific award.
“The building is a flagship project and was the result of a real team effort between the Balcarras Trust, Gloucestershire County Council, Kier Construction, AHR architects and the other contractors involved.
“It was a real privilege to meet with this team again at the Michelmores Property Awards last week and all the more so when we were announced as the winners.”