Topping out ceremony held as work progresses at £16m academy (From Gazette Series)

Topping out ceremony held at £16m Yate International Academy

8:30am Tuesday 13th September 2011 in News By Alexandra Womack

A TOPPING out ceremony has been held at a new multi-million pound academy under construction in Yate.

Dignitaries and invited guests met on Friday to mark the completion of the outer shell of the new Yate International Academy, on Sundridge Park.

The £16million development is now more than one third of the way to being ready for pupils to move in next September.

Principal of the academy Roger Gilbert told the Gazette: “I am delighted with the progress so far.

“The shell is now pretty much up and it is fantastic to see the interior coming to fruition. It is terrific that the exceptional design we had on paper is now becoming a reality.”

Threatened with closure as King Edmund Community School in 200, the academy was given funding for the rebuild after forming The Ridings’ Federation of Academies with Winterbourne International Academy, despite the decision to halt the government’s Building Schools for the Future programme last year.

The new H-shaped academy is being built next to the existing buildings, which in turn will be knocked down and turned into a new all-weather pitch, athletics track and car park. It will centre around a circular hub and atrium and will feature a first floor sports hall, theatre, indoor and outdoor vocational centre and new art and drama studios. The main entrance will take the form of a lengthy and landscaped boulevard.

Willmott Dixon construction manager Jason Hunt said: “We are in week 26 out of 70 for the main build.

“The new academy is actually smaller than the existing one but it will be over two floors, three in some places, so the aim is to make the best use of the footprint.

“There are going to be a lot of glass panels to allow for a lot of natural light. It is going to be a fantastic facility.”

Senior project surveyor Philip Nash said the building would surpass current building standards for energy efficiency.

“It will be incredibly air tight,” he said. “The idea is to keep running costs very low so there are no radiators or underfloor heating systems.

“Traditionally when you get too hot you open a window but in the current economic climate you can’t afford to do that so this building will automatically cool to the required temperature.”

Year 11 construction students are helping to build the internal hub as part of their bricklaying module.