£8m education scheme gathers pace

AN £8m special school in Coventry will be built that will double the capacity available for children of primary school age.

Architects and planners IDP Group will design the development, which will be built by Farrans Construction.

The Coventry City Council scheme for Tiverton SEN Broad Spectrum School  and a 26-place nursery will be built next to Whitley Abbey Primary School.

The Council will make a decision about the future of the school’s current home in Coundon once the new school has been completed.

Construction of the 25,000 sq ft development is due to begin during the summer holidays, and the school is scheduled to open in September 2017.

The new school will cater for more than double the number of children who have a broad range of special educational needs, with up to 88 places available. It will be mostly single storey and will also include a swimming pool.

IDP Group director James Hinde said: “We are very much a national firm and work right across the UK, but we have our roots very much in Coventry so it is really pleasing to be involved with such a worthwhile development in our home city.

“The scheme’s design will create a parkland setting for the new school building that will harmonise with the surrounding landscape and complement the existing primary school and grounds.”

IDP employs more than 70 professionals across its offices in Coventry, London and Manchester.