Plans and name for Rugby’s newest secondary revealed
Plans for Rugby’s newest secondary school have received praise after they were revealed to the public this week.
Houlton School will open in 2021 in the Grade II listed Rugby Radio Station building, which was the hub of global communications in the 1920s and surrounded by the iconic 820ft radio masts.
A planning application is about to be submitted for the school building, and to mark this milestone Houlton developers Urban&Civic have joined with the Transforming Lives Educational Trust, who will run the new school, to reveal a large scale model of the plans to help people get a feel for what the school will be like.
Richard Coppell, Development Director for Urban&Civic, said: “We have had a really positive response to our designs for the school, both from prospective pupils and parents as well as the wider Rugby community. Our architects have sensitively and cleverly fulfilled the brief of providing a modern, spacious and inspiring place in learn whilst preserving the integrity of the building’s existing features and retaining some important reminders of its days as the world’s most powerful radio station.
“It is going to be a fantastic and iconic new school for Rugby as well as an important centrepiece in the creation of our new community at Houlton.”
At a celebration event to mark the milestone, invited guests and residents from the Houlton community joined together to see the model, CGI images and plans, and meet with the organisations responsible for the school’s development.
James Higham, CEO of the Transforming Lives Educational Trust, of which Houlton School will be part, said: “This is such an exciting moment for Houlton School.
“The model and the plans really help to bring our vision for this school to life. Not only will the facilities be an inspirational place to learn, but we will also be building on the experience and expertise of the Outstanding Ashlawn School to develop a strong community and the highest educational standards.”
“The feedback we received from people seeing the plans for the first time was fantastic. We will nurture each and every student and encourage them to excel.”
The renovation of the site has been designed by leading architectural consultants Van Heyningen & Haward Architects, and the secondary school is the second of four schools which will be delivered across the Houlton development, with the first of these, St. Gabriel’s CofE Academy, having opened its doors to pupils in September 2018.
The model and CGIs are now available to view at the Houlton Visitor Centre next to the award-winning eatery The Tuning Fork in Houlton’s Dollman Farm hub.
Prospective home-buyers can also view a range of quality homes from Houlton’s three housebuilders; Davidsons Homes, Crest Nicholson, and Morris Homes.
