A Hertfordshire manor house which served as The Boys’ Brigade’s training centre for more than 70 years has been transformed to provide a new SEND school.
Main contractor, Pexhurst, recently completed the £4.5m project alongside construction consultancy, CS2, creating a special school for client, Witherslack Group.
To be known as Felden Hall School, it is set on 18.55 acres of land and comprises of three key buildings – separate primary and secondary schools and a sports hall.
All buildings have undergone extensive internal and external refurbishment to create 32 SEND classrooms, including specialist science labs and food tech facilities, with all necessary accessibility features and safeguarding measures.
In order to change the layout inside the buildings, structural work was carried out to create robust partition walls between classrooms.
And, with one of the buildings suffering from subsidence, a modern technique was used in lieu of the traditional underpinning processes – whereby a specialist resin was injected below ground to strengthen the foundations, providing a fast and cost-effective solution.
All windows were also replaced along with the introduction of a new heating system and LED lighting throughout the property.
Externally, a new carpark has been created with EV charging points and perimeter fencing and electric entry gates have been installed.
The building has been sympathetically refurbished to provide a new SEND school
The grounds have also been landscaped, including the planting of native hedging.
Lee Stuart, director at Pexhurst, said: “Projects such as this are incredibly rewarding, not only due to the nature of the building, but also because it’s clear to see the difference you are making to a community.
“Our first project with Witherslack Group, hopefully with more to come, it is clear to see their passion for creating high-quality spaces that the pupils will hugely benefit from having access to.
“The unique location of this site didn’t come without its challenges, though. Unlike many of the out-of-town industrial sites we work on, Felden Hall has restricted access routes that couldn’t be reached by much of our supply chain.
“Our team of experts, however, were tenacious in their approach to overcome every challenge and we are very proud to have been able to bring Witherslack Group’s vision to life.”
For children aged between 5-16, Felden Hall School will meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs including ADHD and autism as well as speech, language, and communication difficulties.
Mark Long, head of property development at Witherslack Group, said: “Felden Hall School is an extraordinary property that perfectly reflects our commitment to providing an inspirational learning environment, a place where children and young people with special educational needs can truly feel safe and, importantly, thrive, and it has been great to work alongside the Pexhurst team as it has been transformed.
“With 1.7 million pupils in England identified as having special educational needs and disabilities, we know all too well that the need for specialist provision has never been greater.
“Every young person deserves access to high-quality, SEN-specific education, and Felden Hall School represents a significant step forward in expanding those opportunities.”
Manor house transformed into SEND school
A Hertfordshire manor house which served as The Boys’ Brigade’s training centre for more than 70 years has been transformed to provide a new SEND school.
Main contractor, Pexhurst, recently completed the £4.5m project alongside construction consultancy, CS2, creating a special school for client, Witherslack Group.
To be known as Felden Hall School, it is set on 18.55 acres of land and comprises of three key buildings – separate primary and secondary schools and a sports hall.
All buildings have undergone extensive internal and external refurbishment to create 32 SEND classrooms, including specialist science labs and food tech facilities, with all necessary accessibility features and safeguarding measures.
In order to change the layout inside the buildings, structural work was carried out to create robust partition walls between classrooms.
And, with one of the buildings suffering from subsidence, a modern technique was used in lieu of the traditional underpinning processes – whereby a specialist resin was injected below ground to strengthen the foundations, providing a fast and cost-effective solution.
All windows were also replaced along with the introduction of a new heating system and LED lighting throughout the property.
Externally, a new carpark has been created with EV charging points and perimeter fencing and electric entry gates have been installed.
The building has been sympathetically refurbished to provide a new SEND school
The grounds have also been landscaped, including the planting of native hedging.
Lee Stuart, director at Pexhurst, said: “Projects such as this are incredibly rewarding, not only due to the nature of the building, but also because it’s clear to see the difference you are making to a community.
“Our first project with Witherslack Group, hopefully with more to come, it is clear to see their passion for creating high-quality spaces that the pupils will hugely benefit from having access to.
“The unique location of this site didn’t come without its challenges, though. Unlike many of the out-of-town industrial sites we work on, Felden Hall has restricted access routes that couldn’t be reached by much of our supply chain.
“Our team of experts, however, were tenacious in their approach to overcome every challenge and we are very proud to have been able to bring Witherslack Group’s vision to life.”
For children aged between 5-16, Felden Hall School will meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs including ADHD and autism as well as speech, language, and communication difficulties.
Mark Long, head of property development at Witherslack Group, said: “Felden Hall School is an extraordinary property that perfectly reflects our commitment to providing an inspirational learning environment, a place where children and young people with special educational needs can truly feel safe and, importantly, thrive, and it has been great to work alongside the Pexhurst team as it has been transformed.
“With 1.7 million pupils in England identified as having special educational needs and disabilities, we know all too well that the need for specialist provision has never been greater.
“Every young person deserves access to high-quality, SEN-specific education, and Felden Hall School represents a significant step forward in expanding those opportunities.”
Charlotte Goddard