New Kingsbrook Secondary School is officially opened

Democracy and Local Affairs, Education
Councillor Anita Cranmer cuts the ribbon with special guests; boxers Adam and Hassan Azim and members of the School Council

The new pupils of Kingsbrook Secondary School walked through its doors for the first time earlier this month and today (Friday 30 September) the multi-million-pound educational establishment was officially opened by Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Education & Children’s Services, Councillor Anita Cranmer.

The new school in Aylesbury, has been built with funding from the national Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF), Section 106 developer contributions and the government’s Basic Need Funding. It will provide 1,080 places for secondary school age children in the local area, including those living in the newly opened Kingsbrook housing development. In addition to state-of-the-art facilities, the school will also benefit from a dedicated 32-place unit for young people with special educational needs (SEN), the first of its kind in the county. The opening of the school has been delivered ahead of its original forecast schedule through the close collaboration of different partners, including Barratts, Insignis Trust, Morgan Sindall and the council.

Anita Cranmer, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said: “We are delighted to see the doors of the new Kingsbrook Secondary School open on schedule and on budget. This has been a huge project, but the local community can now reap the rewards of this fantastic new facility.”

Jo Alden, Technical Director at Barratt David Wilson North Thames, commented: “We are proud to mark the opening of The Kingsbrook School, which has been delivered approximately three years ahead of schedule thanks to a continued strong working relationship with Buckinghamshire Council. This comes a year after the official opening of Kingsbrook View Primary Academy, who we have since built a strong relationship with and we look forward to doing the same with the secondary school. This project is another important milestone in ensuring our Kingsbrook development is not only a place our residents can call home, but also a place that provides meaningful benefits to the wider community. We are proud to be part of a team that provide opportunities to share in our vision for the development and wider community.”

Building works were carried out by Morgan Sindall Construction. David Rowsell, Morgan Sindall Construction’s Northern Home Counties area director, said: “Kingsbrook Secondary School’s low carbon design means it will provide an energy efficient and environmentally friendly space for the growing community. Utilising innovative, modern methods of construction was central to achieving a high standard of sustainability.

“It’s been very rewarding to work collaboratively with Buckinghamshire Council on our second scheme at the new Kingsbrook estate, following completion of the Kingsbrook View Primary Academy last year. This work has included initiatives designed to drive added social value for the area, such as the creation of an onsite Knowledge Quad that gave local people access to new skills and training.”

Kingsbrook School forms part of a multi-academy trust run by Insignis Academy Trust. CEO Garret Fay said: “We are delighted that The Kingsbrook School is part of the Insignis Academy Trust family of schools. As a Buckinghamshire based MAT (Multi-Academy Trust) we are committed to supporting the educational development of children in our county. The Kingsbrook School has fantastic facilities that will also allow us to ensure that our students have access to excellent sporting and wellbeing opportunities. This is a fantastic opportunity for the community, the school and the Trust to work together to provide community spaces for activities. We are very much looking forward to growing our school as the community of Kingsbrook grows too.”