News

Kenilworth’s new school in Glasshouse Lane, due to open in the autumn of 2023, is being designed to reduce its energy demands.

Creating an energy efficient shell is just one element of a multi-pronged approach adopted by its architects to reduce the school’s impact on the environment.

The design will reduce demand for energy by adopting a ‘fabric first’ approach.

This means ensuring that the fabric of the building is designed to be as efficient as possible to take advantage of passive heating from solar gain.  Windows will provide natural light, natural ventilation and controlled solar gain. 

The materials used in the construction have been chosen to help ensure thermal efficiency, with exposed concrete soffits in teaching spaces providing the correct thermal mass to help reduce peak internal temperatures. Architects say this element should mean the building’s thermal performance will exceed that required under current building regulations.

Executive head of Kenilworth School and Sixth Form/KMAT Hayden Abbott said: We are delighted to be playing our part in ensuring that we minimise our impact on the environment. A number of energy efficiency and sustainability measures are being taken at the new school, with the physical structure of the building playing a core role in this.

“We will be sharing details about these elements with the wider community over the coming weeks.”

The main contractor at the school, Morgan Sindall Construction, is also pledging its support for the environment and has set a target of reducing its carbon emissions by 30% by 2025 and by 60% by 2030 on its net zero mission.

Its innovative partnership with the Carbon Literacy Project will also see its staff visiting schools to tell learners and teaching communities about the role that the construction industry can play in decarbonising communities.