Following the merger of Central Newcastle High School and Church High School, this project brings together two independent girls day schools with various sites across Brandling Village in Jesmond (Newcastle). The project required an extensive masterplan in order to ascertain the best way to develop the sites and create a new vibrant and cohesive school – Newcastle High School for Girls.

The final scheme included the total restoration and refurbishment of the school’s iconic existing Victorian building at the Church High (Tankerville Terrace) site, including a three-storey infill with a vertical core to provide level access to all floors. The scheme also included a new-build 3,625 sq m, 3-storey building on the Tankerville Terrace site to provide new flexible, state-of-the-art teaching facilities, including a multi-purpose assembly hall and performing arts venue, new dining facilities, a fitness suite, science laboratories and general classroom spaces.

Awards
We were awarded the Lord Mayor’s Special Award for our work on this project. The Lord Mayor, Councillor Linda Wright, was particularly impressed with the investment in the education of the city’s students demonstrated by the scheme. The combination of works to the existing building and the addition of the exciting new building has created a new learning environment whilst maintaining an historic link with the school’s past. At the same ceremony, the project was a commended finalist in the new building category, with the judges describing it as an ambitious school project providing modern facilities in a sensitive manner within the Brandling Village conservation area.

Ellis Williams was also shortlisted for Architectural Practice of the Year at the Education Estates Awards 2018 for our work at Newcastle High School for Girls and were shortlisted for the North East Property Awards 2017 for Refit/Refurbishment of the Year.