Wellington Place Primary School

After creating Leicestershire's first net-zero in operation school for Leicestershire County Council, we returned to deliver the next school in the roll-out of next generation, net-zero in operation schools in the county.

The school is designed to be net-zero carbon in operation, with facilities including teaching spaces for pupils with special educational needs, a multi-use play area, nature areas and parking and drop-off spaces.

The school is run by Discovery School Trust, with its doors opening to pupils in September 2024.

Responding to increased demand for school places

With the new, 924-home Airfield Farm Housing Estate being built in Market Harborough, there was a need for a new school in the area. The school has been funded through section 106 funding from developers William Davis and Taylor Wimpey and money from the Government’s Basic Need Funding for schools.

If a futher increase in school places is required in the future, the school has been future-proofed. It has been built in such a way that it could be extended to double capacity, enabling it to take up to 420 pupils.

A sustainable, next generation school

To make the building as energy efficient as possible, careful consideration was given to building materials. We took a fabric-first approach to enhance the building's thermal efficiency and minimise the amount of heating and cooling intervention required from M&E systems.

The heating and power that is required by the school comes from sustainable sources in the form of air source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels. These measures all contribute to the school being designed to meet net-zero in operation for both regulated and unregulated sources of energy.

Cllr Deborah Taylor, Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for children and families, said:

“This school will be a welcome addition to this new community, providing much-needed school places and a lovely setting for learning. We are committed to addressing climate change and it’s schemes like these that will support Leicestershire becoming a net-zero county by 2045. We look forward to seeing this new school taking shape.”

Louise Dodds, client relationship manager, Procurement Hub:

“It’s great that we have been able to assist in the delivery of a second net-zero school for Leicestershire County Council this year through the Major Projects Framework alongside partner Willmott Dixon. We look forward to continuing to assist Leicestershire County Council’s roll-out of the new generation ‘net-zero’ schools.”