Tilbury Douglas hands over new building for Samuel Cody School – a SEN school in Farnborough

Tilbury Douglas, a leading UK building, infrastructure, engineering and fit-out business, has successfully handed over the new building for Samuel Cody School, a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school in Farnborough, Hampshire.

The new provision will open in September 2022 and provide 90 places for children in years 5-11 with social, emotional and mental health needs.

The £13million project was awarded to Tilbury Douglas through the Department for Education Construction Framework, following successful delivery of Austen Academy, another recently completed SEN school project in Hampshire.

Work involved constructing a new 3,027m2 school building over two stories, including 16 general teaching classrooms, six specialist & practical teaching classrooms, therapy & small group rooms, dining hall & kitchen, toilets and a parent meeting room. Externally, a multi-use games court and outdoor gym equipment has been provided, as well as a sensory garden, habitat area and further soft landscaping. Hard paved and grassy play areas, an access drive and car park have also been constructed.

We exceeded the planning requirement for an overall BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating of ‘Very Good’, and an ‘Excellent’ rating for water consumption. The project has been awarded BREEAM ‘Excellent’ at design stage and is on target to achieve this at post construction too.

Paul Gale, Divisional Director at Tilbury Douglas, shared:

“We’re really pleased to be able to hand over the new building for Samuel Cody School to Hampshire County Council. This project is a great example of mutual cooperation and collaboration and we look forward to hearing how the school enjoys using their new facilities.”

Sharon Chinnappa, Head Teacher at Samuel Cody School, commented:

“The new unit will offer a much-needed therapeutic educational provision for those children who, through no fault of their own, struggle to engage in education. This is the first school of its kind in the north of the county and is an opportunity to offer a unique, bespoke learning environment for children with social, emotional and mental health needs. The Tilbury Douglas team has fully involved us in the design of both the internal and external spaces and this has been ground-breaking in the development of what will be an outstanding school for our children.”