Following approval from the Department for Education (DfE), Greenwood Academies Trust, through their construction partner Reds10, has secured planning permission to build a brand-new primary school to serve families across the rapidly growing Trent Basin waterside neighbourhood and beyond. 

The school will be named The Waterside Primary Academy and is due to open its doors for the academic year 2024/25. The Academy will serve up to 210 pupils, and 30 full-time nursery places, when full. It will be located on Trent Lane, Nottingham NG2 4DT.

It will be one of the first schools in the UK to base its design on the updated DfE net-zero operation guidance and will offer the most up to date teaching, learning and recreational facilities in an environment where all are welcome.

The school will be built using modern methods of construction by offsite construction specialist Reds10. Reds10, who were appointed by DfE as the main contractor to design and build the school as part of their ‘Off-site Schools Framework’, will complete 87% of the building in their factory. Offsite construction directly benefits the delivery of school construction projects through reducing the amount of carbon emitted during the construction of the building, efficient delivery programmes and reduced site disruption. Groundworks will begin on site in Autumn 2023, preparing the site ready for the building modules to be delivered to site in Spring 2024.

Applications for admissions for Reception aged children to The Waterside Primary Academy will be open from early November 2023 ahead of the school’s first intake in September 2024. The Academy will open with 30 pupils in Reception. The nursery will open at a later date.

Greenwood Academies Trust currently sponsors 37 other academies looking after over 18,000 pupils. The Trust is excited about working to develop The Waterside Academy as an excellent provider of education for young people but also an important hub within the rapidly developing Waterside community.

Wayne Norrie, Chief Executive of Greenwood Academies Trust, said:

“We are delighted to receive the green light and see work now begin on the construction of The Waterside Primary Academy. It will provide much-needed primary school places for the families in the community, and we are thrilled to be extending the GAT family to include this innovative school.

“The Academy will offer brilliant facilities and we now look forward to appointing a great staff team to take forward our vision. Together, we will ensure the Academy offers a high-quality curriculum, broad and exciting experiences and outstanding pastoral support to give our young people the best start in life.”

Joe Shepherd, Director & Education Sector Lead for Reds10, said:

“Reds10 are excited to be working on this project alongside DfE and Greenwood Academies Trust. The Waterside Primary Academy has sustainability principles at the core of its design and will set a new standard of performance for school buildings, under the latest DfE Spec21 guidance. Most crucially, our offsite system will allow us to provide the much-needed pupil places for the Nottingham area, quicker than traditional forms of construction.”

Councillor Cheryl Barnard, Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Education at Nottingham City Council, said:

“We welcome this development which builds on our ongoing efforts to ensure that every child and young person has access to the very best facilities to help them reach their full potential.

“There was a long-held ambition to develop the Waterside area into a new sustainable community linked to the city centre and adjoining neighbourhoods. A new school is another important step in supporting its creation and delivering the Council’s regeneration plans for the area.”