Dixons Allerton Academy opens to pupils

The new Dixons Allerton Academy opened to pupils in September with a grand opening hosted by local chef James Martin.

The new academy accommodates pupils from 3-19 years old and specialises in health and science. There is provision for 1440 secondary pupils including post 16 and the primary school accommodates a further 420 pupils, including reception and nursery.

The two schools can operate discretely or as shared facilities depending on the educational preference. The library over the main shared entrance acts a learning bridge between the schools and eases the transition from primary to secondary education.

The school is delighted with the results and Principal Rachel Kidd explains: “We were delighted when we learnt we were going to have a new building. From the very start BDP showed that they valued our ideas and wanted to work with us.  We had a long and complicated process to get through and the team contributed patiently and took all this in their stride accommodating our obsession with the new building being as environmentally friendly as possible, as well as our desire for an open and light building with windows everywhere, both inside and out.

As a result we have a building which we are extremely proud of and enjoy working in. This building says to the students that their education is important – we have invested all this into their future. It is a wonderful resource for the local community for generations to come.”

BDP’s interdisciplinary team has used this project to develop methods of inter office working with BIM between professions. As a result it has supplied some of the working models used to develop BDP’s best practice in BIM including testing 4D modelling using programme management systems supplied by the client.