Shakespeare School, Leeds

Location

Leeds

Main contractor

BAM Construction

Products

Facing Bricks

Solus Brick Range

Glazed Bricks

Overview

The Shakespeare Primary School in Leeds is a three form entry school built with the aim of combatting the rapidly growing population of Leeds and increasing demand for primary school places. The £8.5 million project was awarded to BAM Construction by the Director of Children and Families in March 2017.

Taylor Maxwell worked closely with main contractors BAM Construction to specify and supply the grey facing bricks, yellow glazed bricks and the Carsington Cream bricks from our solus range to the project. The facing bricks were carefully chosen to match the local vernacular and provide the new building with warm, calming tones and a cheerful architectural design on the main entrance.

Concept to Completion

Leeds is an extremely dynamic and vibrant city in constant economic growth, which makes it a very attractive place for families and businesses to move to. As the city’s population continues to expand, this is reflected with an increasing demand for amenities, including living spaces and schools. To combat the demand, Leeds City Council’s Learning Places Programme scheme pushed for the expansion of the Shakespeare School to create additional space that accommodated three forms per year group, providing education for an extra 315 pupils.

The development comprised the expansion of the school with a new two-storey building and associated external works, including a new visitors parking, parental drop-off and landscaped play areas and sports pitches. The expansion was approved in September 2016 and the project begun in July 2017, reaching completion in May 2018 ready for the 2018/19 school year to start.

Shakespeare Primary School now has an eye-catching main entrance completed with yellow glazed bricks to contrast with the light grey cladding around the doors. A nursery is located to the right of the entrance and Key Stage One to the left, with the rest of the school year classrooms located further into the building near the newly landscaped playgrounds. The Carsington Cream brick was used across the rest of the facade to create a sense of harmony and tranquillity with the abundant greenery of the building’s surroundings. Dark grey facing bricks were also used for the bottom course below the cream brickwork, to create connectivity and link the dark grey elevation at the south of the scheme. Overall, the project has achieved its aim of providing a much needed educational space in a busy city that has a bright and inspiring feel for its staff and students

To find out more about facing bricks, click here.

To find out more about our solus range, click here.