St Mark’s Church of England Primary School

Ubu have been appointed to provide the landscaping for Southampton’s first-ever four-to-16 school.  The new 900-place all-through school is set to be built at the site of St Mark’s Church of England Primary School and the nearby ex-civil service playing fields in Freemantle.  Last year the city council promised to create 1,500 new secondary places in the central region of the city by 2023 to meet known demand into the 2020s.  The all-through school will provide 24 pre-school nursery places, 420 primary spaces and 900 secondary places.The new buildings designed by ArchitecturePLB will house the six form entry secondary school, while the existing two-form entry primary school building will be revamped.  An additional new sports building will also be located centrally within the site, serving all age groups.  The design proposes separate wings for primary and secondary teaching spaces, although these will be linked to enable the whole school to operate as one.

The first public consultation period ran from November 2018 through to January 2019.  Residents also had the opportunity to quiz civic chiefs and look at the plans during an additional public consultation held in September 2019.  A formal planning application is expected to be submitted later this year.Morgan Sindall Construction plan to start work in spring/summer 2020, with completion due in summer/autumn 2022.