Pupils and staff at St Mary’s have moved into the UK’s greenest primary school, three years after a devastating fire.
St Mary’s is the country’s first biophilic school and has been built as part of a pilot project by the Department for Education.
Biophilic design focuses on connecting those inside with nature, with the goal of promoting physical and mental health.
The school’s original building burnt down in October 2020 and pupils and staff were based at St James’ House, in Mansfield Road, Derby, from April 2021.
Amanda Greaves, Executive Headteacher at St Mary’s, said: “I can’t quite believe this day is finally here. I am so delighted for the children, staff, parents and wider community as we begin the next chapter in the new St Mary’s, the greenest school in the UK. It has been an absolute privilege to be part of this incredible pathway project.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has played a part in supporting us during the most challenging 3 years; our dedicated staff, our loyal parents/carers, the St Ralph Sherwin Trust, Diocese of Nottingham and the people of Derby. We have appreciated your love, guidance and support throughout this time. I am looking forward to seeing the environment flourish over the coming months and using the tech to measure the impact of the stunning surroundings on pupils’ educational journey, as well as their physical and mental wellbeing.”
Bella Atkin, Year 3 class teacher, said: “It feels a bit surreal to be here but it’s really special. It felt quite nostalgic pulling into the site but once you are in it’s totally different. It’s absolutely beautiful, we are so lucky.
“I think the best thing about the new building is being able to see all of the outside areas from all of the buildings and everything is integrated. We have over 100 trees, the trim trail and lots of benches and everything feels calm and relaxed. Everyone is just excited to be here.”
Kevin Gritton, Chief Executive of the St Ralph Sherwin Trust, said: “This move means so much to the St Mary’s community and we are delighted for them after such a long and challenging journey.
“We would like to thank all of the staff, governors, parents, carers and pupils who have pulled together and worked so hard during this difficult time. This fantastic new eco-friendly building will serve generations of children for years to come.”
Peter Giorgio, Director of Education for the Nottingham Roman Catholic Diocesan Education Service, said: “This is a momentous day for everyone connected with St Mary’s and we are thrilled that they have moved into this incredible new building, where the staff will continue to provide children with the very best Catholic education and care.”
Time Lapse footage of St Mary’s new build
provided by Site Eye
Check the media coverage of the opening of St Mary’s new build here
Derby: Arson-hit school reopens after £8m rebuild – BBC News
BBC One – East Midlands Today, Evening News, 04/12/2023 (go to 10 minutes)
Andy Twigge – 04/12/2023 – BBC Sounds (1.08 in, 1.37 in, 2.08 in and 2.44 in)
St Mary’s – set to re-open in December 2023
The pioneering new eco building for a Derby primary school destroyed by fire is set to open to pupils and staff in December 2023.
St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy will return to its Broadway site on Monday, December 4th 2023, three years after the blaze at the school’s original building.
The fire broke out at the school in October 2020 and pupils and staff have been based at St James’ House, in Mansfield Road, Derby, since April 2021.
St Mary’s new building is set to be the UK’s greenest primary school, and first biophilic school, as part of a pilot project by the Department for Education.
Biophilic design focuses on connecting those inside with nature, with the goal of promoting physical and mental health.
Amanda Greaves, Executive Headteacher at St Mary’s, said: “This move is a hugely positive and long-awaited milestone and we know that pupils and staff will be excited to finally return to Broadway, to a brand new biophilic school.
“I would like to thank staff for their loyalty, resilience and everything they have done these past three years to provide the very best education in the most difficult circumstances for the good of our pupils and families.
“We continue to be extremely grateful and humbled by the ongoing support we receive from our parents and carers and we would like to thank them for their patience, understanding and support over the past three years.
“The whole community will benefit from what the new school will offer, complementing our mission and vision for St Mary’s now and in the future. ”
The official handover of the site from the contractors, Tilbury Douglas UK, is set to take place on November 24th.
The school will then take INSET days from Monday, November 27th to Friday, December 1st in order to complete the move and prepare the new school to welcome pupils on Monday, December 4th.
Kevin Gritton, Chief Executive of the St Ralph Sherwin Trust, said: “This is a new chapter for St Mary’s and this wonderful new school will be a place where staff will continue to provide children with the very best education and care.
“St Mary’s recent Ofsted report saw it being graded Good overall with Outstanding features and we are looking forward to seeing the school go from strength to strength.”
Simon Butler, Managing Director Building Central at Tilbury Douglas, said: “It is a great to see progress being made onsite and we are continuing to push on with the finishing elements of the build. We look forward to handing the building over at the end of the year for the students, staff and community to use.”
Pupils tour new build with BBC Radio Derby
Some of our pupils and staff were given a tour of our fantastic new school with BBC Radio Derby on July 12th.
Reporter Jack Tymon interviewed the staff and children throughout the breakfast show as they walked around the site with Neil Holland from Tilbury Construction.
The children were thrilled with what they saw and were excited to go back to school and tell their friends all about it!
You can listen to the show here: Andy Twigge – 12/07/2023 – BBC Sounds
We feature at one hour 37 mins, two hours 5 mins and two hours 46 mins.
The pioneering new eco-building for our school is taking shape.
All of the five main single storey structures of the new building on our Broadway site have been erected and the process of cladding them with cedar is well underway.
The installation of windows has begun along with the construction of the large central covered walkway which will connect the buildings. A multi-use games area is also being created.
Painters and decorators will begin work in the coming weeks and the building is scheduled to be completed in late autumn.
The biophilic design focuses on connecting those inside the building – set to be the UK’s first biophilic school – with nature, with the goal of promoting physical and mental health.
As part of the unique scheme, the site will be planted with 96 new semi mature trees in late autumn.
St Mary’s original building, in Broadway, was destroyed by fire in October 2020 and the school has been based at St James House in Mansfield Road, Derby, since April 2021. Work started on the new building in February 2023.
Mrs Greaves, Executive Headteacher, said: “It is so exciting following the progress of our wonderful new school and we are very much looking forward to returning to our permanent home on the Broadway site. We appreciate how much moving into our new building means to our whole school community and we would like to thank everyone who has supported us on this journey.”
Kevin Gritton, Chief Executive of the St Ralph Sherwin Trust, said: “It is fantastic to see work progressing well on the new school for St Mary’s. We are all excited to see the finished school, which promises to be a wonderful space for staff and children.”
Tilbury Douglas, a leading UK building, infrastructure, engineering and fitout company, is the main contractor for the project, which is a pilot for the Department for Education.
Tilbury Douglas’s Project Manager, Neil Holland, said: “Tilbury Douglas have delivered many school projects, and there’s no doubt that this school is a real precedent for quality and sustainability. Employing modern methods of construction has really aided this programme to move at pace, and we look forward to handing this project over to the school in the autumn.”
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A ground-breaking ceremony and blessing has taken place at the site of the new building for St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy in Derby.
Pupils and staff from the school, the Bishop of Nottingham, local clergy, and representatives from the Diocese of Nottingham and the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust attended the event.
The new building is set to be the UK’s first biophilic school and is a pilot project for the Department for Education.
The biophilic design focuses on connecting those inside the building with nature, with the goal of promoting physical and mental health.
St Mary’s original building, in Broadway, was destroyed by fire in October 2020 and the school has been based at St James House in Mansfield Road, Derby, since April 2021.
It is hoped that children and staff will move into the new building by the end of 2023.
Amanda Greaves, Executive Headteacher at St Mary’s, said: “We are delighted to have reached this momentous milestone. The next phase is hugely exciting for us as a school community. We can not wait to see our new environmentally friendly school rise from the ashes and open to our children, staff and families.”
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in supporting us through the past 2 years; our parents, parishes, colleagues within the Trust, Diocese, Derby and beyond.”
Kevin Gritton, Chief Executive of the St Ralph Sherwin Trust, said: “We are proud to be part of this project, which is in keeping with our mission as a group of Catholic schools, to live sustainably and care for the environment, and it’s wonderful that we can support this project.
“We know how much this means to the school community and we would like to thank the staff, pupils, families and everyone connected to the school who has supported them on this journey.”
Peter Giorgio, Director of Education for the Nottingham Roman Catholic Diocesan Education Service, said: “This is a joyful day for the community of St Mary’s and for our diocesan family of schools. After all of the challenges and difficulties, we can now all look forward in hope to the completion of our new St Mary’s.”
Tilbury Douglas, a leading UK building, infrastructure, engineering and fitout company, has been appointed as the main contractor for the project.
Simon Butler, Managing Director Building Central at Tilbury Douglas, said: “As the main contractor working on this innovative school, it was great to be able to mark such an important milestone as we officially start construction.”
Photos by Matthew Ling Photography.
St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy – New Build
Opening in Advent 2023, St Mary’s is being rebuilt as the UK’s most environmentally friendly school – providing a perfect place for pupils to receive the very best Catholic education.
Our building will be the country’s first biophilic school, meaning it will be close to nature and its design is focused around plants and wildlife. The building will consist of a primary school and nursery and will be single-storey, made up of a series of pavilions arranged along a central canopy.
For full information, please visit Our New Build page
