Building contractor finishes £9m special education needs centre

Henry Boot Construction has completed work on a new £9m Special Education Needs (SEN) learning centre on Buckingham Road in Headingley, Leeds.

Located in the Ford House building, the venue is to be known as Headingley Learning Centre and is the third SEN campus of West Oaks School.

Established in 1977, the school also has campuses in Woodhouse and Boston Spa and delivers accessible learning for 500 pupils.

Having started the project back in November 2021, Henry Boot finished phase one of the work in time for the start of the school year in September, before completing the final phase earlier this month.

Purchased by Leeds City Council in 2020, Ford House is an 1850s Grade II Listed manor house.

Leeds City Council partnered with the developer and West Oaks School to complete the necessary work to transform the facility into a contemporary SEN campus.

Modernisation of the 30,000 sq ft building, which included new heating systems and insulation throughout, had to be balanced with restoration of the property’s heritage features.

The building’s two tower turrets, located about 50 metres from ground level, had to be removed via crane lift and then refurbished and recoated off-site by a specialist contractor.

The new campus includes classrooms, curriculum-focused outside play areas, a multi-use games area, interactive activity zones and exhibition space.

Craig Finn, director at Henry Boot, said: “Given the tight programme, it was a real team effort to get the campus in a position to welcome students for the new school year.

“All our projects are rewarding and contribute to the communities in which they are located. However, working on a development that delivers such valuable support to young people in Yorkshire is something that the team is incredibly proud of.”

Andrew Hodkinson, principal, West Oaks School, added: “Headingley Learning Centre is an exceptional facility. I would like to thank all the teams involved in supporting us with the challenging project.

“Due to this further expansion, West Oaks in now one of the largest SEN schools in Europe, with 500 pupils and 240 staff across our three sites.”