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Kier celebrates groundbreaking ceremony at The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School

Kier, a leading provider of infrastructure services, construction and property developments, held a ceremony to mark the formal start of the project at The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. Representatives from Kier, the school and project delivery partners, including a representative from Mace met to commemorate the commencement of the project.

The scheme is being delivered through the Department for Education’s Priority School Building Programme Phase 2 and will consist of constructing two new buildings to accommodate teaching spaces, administration facilities, a new dining area and main hall. These will replace most of the older facilities on site which will be demolished following occupation of the new buildings. The project will also involve some minor refurbishment works to provide attractive outdoor spaces following the demolition.

The school has some impressive alumnae, including former England footballer Ashley Young. Once complete the new scheme is set to total 5,286m2, as well as extensive landscaping works.

Ian Gifford, operations director at Kier Construction Eastern & Midlands, said: “We are pleased to be delivering the new buildings at The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School and look forward to the working in the community over the course of the project.”

Clive Mathew, Headteacher at the school said “This is a fantastic day for our school community and one that we have waited a long time for.  My thanks to Kier for the great project it has developed, to the DfE for its funding and leadership; and finally, to my staff who have worked with the team. We are very excited!”

The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School is the latest appointment for Kier on the Department for Education Construction Framework. Recently completed project through the framework include a new 420 pupil primary school at St Joseph’s Catholic School in Bishops Stortford, completed in time for new pupils starting school in Autumn 2021.