The new Kensington Aldridge Academy and Leisure Centre was opened by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge.
The new Kensington Aldridge Academy will be built adjacent to a new leisure centre on two parcels of land off Silchester Road in London W10. The existing leisure centre will be demolished and new centre built on the same land and take up roughly the same footprint. The new leisure centre will include a 25 metre swimming pool, 250 seat spectator gallery, 20 pool for teaching, a leisure pool, 120 station gym, eight court multi use games hall, as well sauna and steam facilities with treatment rooms.
The Kensington Aldridge Academy will be built on adjoining land and this combined project is set to be one of the largest and most ambitious development projects sponsored by Kensington and Chelsea Council. The £27m academy will deliver much needed places for children in the area as more than 30% of students have to travel outside the borough for their secondary education.
The Kensington Aldridge Academy will open with the first group of 11 year olds in September and, once fully open, will have 900 places for 11-16 year olds and up to 240 places for sixth form students. Admission to the sixth form will follow soon after and the academy will also include a resource centre for up to 20 children on the autistic spectrum.
Billington Structures are supplying the structural steelwork for the academy with long span Westok beams to floors. In the main, beam and column with long span flat lattice trusses will be made from universal columns over the sports hall and learner pools.
The new academy will not only provide a modern learning environment for pupils in the area but the leisure centre will also have state of the art facilities that will be available for community use outside of school hours. This major landmark development will deliver high standards of education and real benefits to the local community.
