Innovative Academy opens tomorrow

Kettering Buccleuch Academy, part of the United Learning group, is an all-through school for 1,770 children ranging in age from 4 to 19. The new building allows the whole 12,600m² academy to be located on the same site for the first time.

The school is designed to express the unity of the Academy as a single organisation whilst maintaining the identities of both the primary and secondary phases. The project also meets the aspiration to increase the Academy's presence in, and accessibility to, the community it serves.

The Academy is organised around a central 'heart' comprising the main performance spaces. A generous triple-height atrium wraps around the theatre and links to the secondary school's three teaching wings. By contrast, the paired primary school classrooms enclose a quiet and secure courtyard.

"We wanted the Kettering Buccleuch Academy building not only to provide a high quality learning environment but also to support our own particular ethos and be both operationally and environmentally efficient. This was no small task but NHA listened to, and worked with, us closely and then used their expertise to produce a truly excellent design."
Martyn Baker, Senior Projects Director, United Learning

"Kettering Buccleuch Academy is an excellent example of client, design team and contractor working collaboratively; creating a school that not only performs efficiently and sustainably, but also supports and inspires the students and staff who use it."
Paul Baxter, Partner at Nicholas Hare Architects