Expansion work to create 150 new places at a Peterborough school nears completion

Representatives from the Jack Hunt School, R G Carter and Peterborough City Council at the topping out ceremony on the roof of Jack Hunt School extension.

Last year work to extend the Jack Hunt School in Netherton was halted following the collapse of contractors Carillion. Peterborough City Council worked to find a new contractor for the project and appointed RG Carters.

The work has seen a two storey extension created including 11 new classrooms, a science classroom, a dining hall and kitchen. An all-weather sports pitch has also been constructed.

A topping out ceremony was held on Wednesday May 8 to mark the completion of the building’s roof and gave visitors a chance to see how the work is progressing.

The new facilities are on schedule to be completed in August and available for the start of the next school year in September. The expansion will enable the school’s capacity to increase from 1,800 to 1,950 pupils.

Councillor Lynne Ayres, Peterborough City Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said: “These state-of-the-art facilities are going to be a real asset to the school and enables another much-needed expansion to take place.

“As the fifth fastest growing city in the UK, the need to create extra school spaces is an urgent one and we are actively working to address this.

“We are committed to providing sufficient classroom spaces to ensure that the educational needs of children and young people in the city continues to be met.”

Peter Williamson, Project Manager at R G Carter, said: “We are proud to be working in partnership with Peterborough City Council, to provide this new two-storey extension to help enhance and improve learning resources at Jack Hunt School.

“We look forward to successfully delivering this building, which will benefit the local community, for many years to come.”

Pamela Kilbey, Headteacher at the Jack Hunt School, said: “We are absolutely delighted that after all the delays the works will be completed this summer. We remain very grateful to the support from Peterborough City Council throughout and look forward to being able to use these wonderful new facilities.”