New school takes off from Cambridgeshire airfield site

Plans to redevelop the former RAF Alconbury site in Cambridgeshire into a new community are advancing with the construction of the scheme’s second school.

Complementing the current primary and SEND school provision, Alconbury Weald Church Academy Secondary School is being constructed by Morgan Sindall Construction, with AC Bacon Engineering fabricating and erecting the steelwork.

Cambridgeshire County Council is delivering the school in line with its aspirations for sustainability, energy efficiency and best practice design in order to reduce the inherent energy demand and associated CO₂ emissions of the building.

Consisting of a three-storey teaching block and a separate sports hall, Alconbury Weald Church Academy will initially cater for 600 pupils as a 4 Form of Entry (4FE) secondary school. However, there is flexibility with the project’s design to facilitate a potential future expansion to an 8FE/1,200 pupil school, when required.

The building is T-shaped on plan, with the horizontal wing accommodating a triple-height dining hall and a kitchen. The future expansion of the school would see this wing extended to provide additional accommodation.

Councillor Bryony Goodliffe, Chair of the Children and Young People Committee at Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “This is an important investment for the County Council, supported by funding from developer Urban&Civic.

“We want to ensure all children and young people in Cambridgeshire have opportunities to thrive. I’m delighted that the school is set to provide those opportunities to the current and future residents of the new community.”

The new school is due to open in September 2027.