Construction underway on new sports facilities at Biggleswade school

Cllr Steve Owen, Executive Member for Children’s Services at Central Bedfordshire Council, has paid a visit to Edward Peake CofE School in Biggleswade.

He joined Head Teacher Zoe Linington and members of the project team on-site to see the progress in constructing a new sports hall and multi-use games area (MUGA), which will enhance physical education opportunities for students.

The project is being delivered by Barnes Construction, in conjunction with Hoggarth Cooke Knight as Project Manager and Concertus as technical advisors. The work is part of Central Bedfordshire Council’s ongoing investment in the Biggleswade area and the Three to Two Tier Programme, the school’s transformation from a middle school to a secondary school in September. The proposal has developed from a feasibility Concertus conducted back in 2023 to help develop the school to meet the new needs of the programme across Biggleswade.

The new sports hall will provide modern facilities with space for three badminton courts, a full basketball court and cricket nets, while an upper level will accommodate activities such as dance, aerobics, and yoga. Additionally, the new MUGA will feature a full-size football pitch with floodlighting, enhancing outdoor sporting opportunities for students.

The project is being completed in phases and temporary facilities were provided over the summer to accommodate students during the initial stages, and the steel frame for the sports hall is now being erected. Work is progressing on the external structure, with the MUGA expected to be ready by January 2025 and the new sports hall scheduled for completion in autumn 2025.

Cllr Owen said: “This exciting project at Edward Peake CofE School is a key part of our £32million investment across the Biggleswade area to support the transition from the three-tier to the two-tier education model and inspire and support the next generation of learners.

“As modern, flexible spaces that are essential for delivering a comprehensive secondary education, the new sports hall and MUGA will provide outstanding facilities to enhance the learning experience for all students, fostering both academic and personal development.”

Dan Mackenzie, Associate Divisional Director for Barnes Construction said: “This is a fantastic project for us to be involved with, and our first under the CBC Construction Framework. It has been a pleasure to work with Zoe and the project team led by Gary Knight, to deliver this expansion project for Biggleswade and future generations attending the school.”

In addition to the sporting facilities, internal remodeling and refurbishment of the existing sports hall will be carried out between April and October next year (2025) to create six classrooms for improved art and design-technology provision, plus a computer suite.

Also, later in 2025, as part of the internal remodeling, an enlarged English classroom and a smaller hall, which is larger than the existing one, will be created. This will provide a multi-use area so that pupils can use it for breakout groups, lunch, studying, presentation space, and smaller assemblies.