Work progressing on Harrow’s first Muslim faith free school

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Morgan Sindall Construction’s Northern Home Counties business is progressing works to deliver Hujjat Primary School in Harrow for the Department of Education.

The free school will be located in an impressive 1930s building in Brookshill Harrow Weald, which was a former grammar school. Morgan Sindall Construction is delivering a comprehensive refurbishment and upgrade to the building, which will enable its character to be retained, while delivering state-of-the-art facilities.

The school will welcome children of all faiths and none, opening with 60 children across two reception classes in autumn 2020, a phased entry system will see a second cohort of learners join the school in early spring.

The project will involve the replacement of all M&E services throughout the building. The team will also reconfigure the existing classroom layout to new plans and install new floors, suspended ceilings and acoustic panels throughout the school, alongside new toilets and sanitary rooms.

When works are complete, children will benefit from spacious learning spaces both indoors and outdoors, as well as a courtyard, multi-use games area and dedicated early years playground.

The Hujjat School Trust was established in response to parental demand for a high performing Muslim faith school that could foster integration and promote cohesion in the wider community.

David Rowsell, Northern Home Counties area director at Morgan Sindall, said: “We are really pleased to be working with the Hujjat Schools Trust to deliver this major refurbishment programme which will provide children and teachers with an outstanding school building, creating a positive and enriching teaching and learning environment, enshrining the values of the school. It is also great to be working on another refurbishment project with the DfE.

“It’s been a terrific achievement by the whole team, including the Trust, the DfE, consultant team and the Morgan Sindall Construction team having navigated through the challenges of recent months to reach this key milestone.

“Our team is well versed in delivering comprehensive refurbishment projects – particularly in the education sector, and we look forward to bringing that experience to bear on this development.

“This will be a sensitive refurbishment, which will enable us to retain the character and quality of the existing grammar school building, while introducing new facilities and features, which will ensure that the school is future-fit and ready to cater for the next generation of learners.”

David Poole BEM, Headteacher at Hujjat Schools Trust, said: “The school is delighted to be working with Morgan Sindall Construction and the Department for Education to provide a unique blend of an historic and a state of the art building for the pupils who will benefit from our outstanding school for many years to come.”

Morgan Sindall Construction is currently on site at a number of projects across the Northern Home Counties, including the expansion and refurbishment of Vandyke Upper School and Gilbert Inglefield Academy in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, worth a combined value of £16.7 million. The schemes, which sit next to each other on Vandyke Lane, were procured through the Southern Construction Framework and include both remodelling and new build elements to each site, opening 240 new school places per facility.