The Associated Architects-designed, £12.6m extension of Thomas Telford University Technical College (UTC) in Wolverhamptone created space for hundreds of extra pupils has been handed over by a contractor with the help of its students. Morgan Sindall Construction completed the works at just a year after starting on site.
The extension comprises of a three-storey teaching building and a separate sports hall facility with a reconfigured external social space and multi-use games area. The 4,500sq.m boost for the UTC will increase the school’s intake by 450 additional pupils, taking the total capacity to 1,050, while supporting at least 50 additional roles for teaching and support staff. The development also provided a new performance space and refurbished kitchen.
The extension of the UTC is latest Associated Architects-designed addition to the University of Wolverhampton’s £120million Springfield campus. It is the fourth project the practice has designed for the site, which is Europe’s largest construction education campus and adds to the School of Architecture and the Built Environment (SoABE) and the recently completed National Brownfield Institute (NBI). The expanded sports and teaching spaces enable the delivery of a full secondary academic syllabus, allowing pupils aged 11-18 years old to be taught at the UTC.
Two pupils from the college were able to begin their experience in the construction industry and are heading into the second year of their T-level qualification with important practical experience gained through the main contractor and its supply chain.
Funding for the UTC is from the Department for Education with a contribution from Wolverhampton Council.
