Councillor Sebastian Kindersley joined Horizons Education Trust and partners to celebrate the ‘topping out’ of new special school Prestley Wood Academy, Alconbury Weald.

“Today is a hugely significant day - for Alconbury Weald, for Cambridgeshire, and most importantly for our children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Prestley Wood Academy will be run by the Horizons Education Trust and will build on the success of their Spring Common Academy in Huntingdon - especially its aspiration ‘to provide a welcoming environment where pupils can flourish both academically and in their personal development, then leave school as self-confident young people.’

Its design is both innovative and exciting. The school has been designed in key stage clusters with an interlinking corridor around a central courtyard. Each cluster is self-contained and has its own accessible toilets, hygiene room, group space, social area and, most importantly – a tea point.

Today’s tree planting ceremony and the associated plaque marks an important milestone for Prestley Wood and Horizons and all those involved in the design and build of the new school, and I am delighted to be part of the celebrations today.”

(Councillor Sebastian Kindersley)

Kim Taylor OBE; CEO of Horizons Education Trust spoke to all in attendance, sharing that, “Prestley Wood Academy will be run by the Horizons Education Trust and will build on the success of their Spring Common Academy in Huntingdon - especially its aspiration ‘to provide a welcoming environment where pupils can flourish both academically and in their personal development, then leave school as self-confident young people.”

(Kim Taylor OBE; CEO of Horizons Education Trust)

Jamie Shearman, area director for Morgan Sindall Construction in Cambridgeshire, said: “It is great to gather to celebrate this exciting milestone for a project that will deliver much-needed SEND places for Cambridgeshire.  

“Alconbury Weald will be the first school built to NZEB (Nearly Zero Emissions Building) specifications in the local area and is another example of how Morgan Sindall is collaborating with our clients and the supply chain to ensure that our 2030 Net Zero aspirations become a reality.”  

(Jamie Shearman; Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction in Cambridgeshire)

Prestley Wood Academy will cater for 150 pupils aged between 3-19 years. The school will form part of the Alconbury Weald Education Campus that will see the addition of a new Secondary School in future phases.

The school builds on the success of the Trust’s Spring Common Academy in Huntingdon and the Trust’s aspiration to provide a welcoming environment where pupils can flourish both academically and in their personal development; to leave school as self-confident young people, ready to take on the many challenges that they may face in the wider world.