Meeting the growing demand for places at Dean Trust Ardwick

/ News

Demand for school places across all wards in Manchester continues to grow, as the city’s population expands in line with the creation of new homes and job opportunities.

At the 2011 census, the population of Ardwick was 19,250, but significant investment into the area – driven in large part by the adjacent Mayfield Strategic Regeneration Framework – means that this figure is likely to increase exponentially.

Dean Trust Ardwick has served the local area since 2015, originally with space to accommodate 1,200 pupils. However, in just five years the school has identified the need to extend its existing learning environments in order to take on more pupils from Ardwick.

An analysis of the existing building by Ellis Williams Architects revealed that the site fell short of the government’s mainstream school requirements by 400m2.

As a result, The Dean Trust has appointed Seddon to increase capacity at the school from 1,200 to 1,350 pupils.

Seddon is undertaking a £4.5million project to extend the current buildings by constructing a new two-storey teaching block and provide space for 120 extra pupils within the dining area. The new spaces are designed by Ellis Williams Architects.

The company will also refurbish existing classrooms and modify landscaped areas for parking.

On 11th March 2020, Dean Trust Ardwick held a ceremony to celebrate work commencing to make these vital adjustments.

In attendance was Tarun Kapur, CEO of The Dean Trust, alongside the school’s head girl, Jun Shen, and head boy, Oways Sherif.

They were joined by local councillors, Amna Saad Omar Abdullatif and Tina Hewitson.

The project team from Seddon was accompanied by Nicola Hodkinson, business services director, and Katy Harris, preconstruction director.

Tarun Kapur, CEO of The Dean Trust, said: “The Dean Trust is delighted to once again be working in partnership with Manchester City Council to support the growing need for school places in the city. The project, which is being delivered by Seddon, will provide additional accommodation both for our pupils and staff, as well as for the wider community that it serves. This will enable local children to attend a local school, delivering a first-class education and learning environment which we believe the community rightly deserves.”

Nicola Hodkinson, business services director at Seddon, commented: “The more school places we can help to deliver in local areas, the better. Manchester, in particular, is only growing, so we need to respond to the pressure put on our education infrastructure as quickly as possible. The work we are doing to extend Dean Trust Ardwick will be invaluable to the growing number of local young people, who rely on the school to forge their futures and the exceptional team that teaches them.”

The project begins in March 2020 and is expected to be ready by November 2020.