Kier is set to design and build a replacement campus for Ellesmere Port Catholic High School after unsafe reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was discovered across significant parts of the existing site.
Plans submitted to Cheshire West and Chester Council propose demolishing all current school buildings once the new facilities are completed.
The project is being delivered for Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Academy Trust through the Department for Education’s School Rebuilding Programme.
The existing 50-year-old campus has been described as being in poor condition, with several buildings already out of use. The main teaching block has faced extensive operational restrictions since RAAC was identified in 2023.
Kier has already secured a £3.1m pre-construction services agreement to develop and plan the scheme. While the final contract value has not been confirmed, comparable Department for Education secondary school rebuilds are typically valued between £45m and £65m.
The replacement campus will provide 9,037 sq m of accommodation across a two-storey teaching block and a separate sports building. It will be constructed on the existing sports fields to the south of the site, with new playing field areas to be created to the north following demolition of the old buildings.
The new school will accommodate 1,068 students, including 900 pupils aged 11 to 16 and 168 sixth-form places.