Dixons Trinity Chapeltown

Dixons Trinity Chapeltown Academy in Leeds will be a state of the art school that caters to 1,000 pupils from the age of four to sixteen. This will comprise of 420 primary school pupils and 560 secondary school pupils.

The school is set in a suburb of Leeds and it covers an area of 40,000 square metres. Willmott Dixon Construction were hired as the main contractor on this project and the architect faced a unique challenge as the school is located on three parcels of land which are separated by a road.

The school had a vision to create a welcoming place with outdoor spaces for learning, socialising and sports that met the needs of the pupils, but could also enhance community facilities, including outdoor courts and a playing field. They also hoped that all of the students could be housed in one building, which required a creative solution from the architect FaulknerBrowns.

The solution was to create one school building in the centre of the site, with separate areas around it, such as a soft play area, pupil collection and drop off area, and facilities for the community. This approach offered the best value for money for the school, as well as the community, with access available to a multi-use games area suitable for all weather across the road. Landscaping features were used to create sheltered play areas and natural buffer zones along roads between the school and surrounding residential areas.

Billington Structures provided over 200 tonnes of structural steelwork for the frame of the new school building. The A58 divides the school in two and spanning the road to link both sites is a 26 metre long truss bridge, which connects directly into the school building’s southern elevation at the second floor level. Dixons Trinity Chapeltown Academy in Leeds will have a curriculum and approach designed specifically to serve the community and it is expected to replicate the success of Dixons Trinity Academy in Bradford.