New sports technical college set for Stoke-on-Trent

Construction has started on a new sports technical college at Holden Lane High School Specialist Sports College in Stoke-on-Trent that will open in January 2014.

Designed by architects Aedas, the facility is being constructed by Balfour Beatty under a design and build contract with Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

The building will feature curriculum-based hubs for teaching and training, which allow for teaching spaces and a large indoor area for use in inclement weather.

A new seven-a-side artifical pitch and activity studio will also be developed.

Ruth Rosenau, Stoke-on-Trent City Council cabinet member for regeneration, planning and transportation, said: "Our Building Schools for the Future programme is transforming schools across the city and improving educational facilities for our children.

"This is in line with our Mandate for Change to make Stoke-on-Trent a great place to live."

In a bid to create a more sustainable building and to improve efficiency during the construction process Balfour Beatty is using Building Information Modelling (BIM).

Mike Cooke, regional director at Balfour Beatty said: "BIM is a great way to pre-empt the issues you might encounter in a building project, even before you lay a single foundation.

"The benefits are being able to build in a virtual environment and sharing all information between partners so that potential building integration issues and on-site clashes are eliminated."