Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Pick Everard Completes New Special Education School in England

  • By Matt Jones
  • 09/03/24

Multidisciplinary consultancy Pick Everard recently announced that construction is complete on a new specialist school for students with Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs in Shepshed, Leicestershire, England, according to a news release. Bowman Academy will open in September 2024 and serve students ages 4–16.

The academy will feature amenities like vinyl spaces for practical learning purposes, a sensory dark room, a calming room, and practical teaching spaces including a domestic kitchen and library. The school has capacity for 64 students, 16 primary-aged children (two ground-floor classrooms) and 48 secondary-aged children (two ground-floor classrooms and four more on the floor above).


Bowman Academy
Image courtesy of Pick Everard

“Working on SEND [Special Educational Needs and Disabilities] schools is always a privilege, with unique design applications and special consideration for the needs of a diverse range of learning,” said Joe West, Pick Everard associate. “Creating an environment that is both functional and comfortable for pupils was central to the aims of the project, which should in turn aid the school in attracting and retaining students in the area.”

The school also partnered with general contractor Bowmer + Kirkland for the project’s construction.

Sustainability initiatives include a “fabric-first” approach to increase insulation, heat recovery, and air-tightness. The school also features high-efficiency boilers, LED lighting with occupancy and daylight controls, and a photovoltaic panel array that offsets ten percent of the school’s energy consumption.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Deferred Maintenance Issues Growing at Universities, Gordian Reports

    U.S. colleges and universities are falling increasingly behind on facilities maintenance and repair, according to Gordian’s 13th annual State of Facilities in Higher Education report. The deferred capital renewal burden has reached $156 per gross square foot, an 8% increase over the previous year.

  • Big Horn Academy

    Big Horn Academy

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Big Horn Academy has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • KWK Architects Announces Full Transition to Lawrence Group Branding

    KWK Architects recently announced that it will complete its transition to the Lawrence Group brand effective July 1, according to a news release. The merger marks the end of a three-year strategic integration process that began in March 2023 to unite the firms.

  • USC Launches Major AI Initiative After $200M Gift

    The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif., recently announced that it has launched a “transformational” new AI initiative thanks to a $200M gift, according to a news release. The project will leverage AI toward breakthroughs and innovations in subjects like the health sciences, business, security, and the arts.