Beard delivers purpose-built school for deaf children

Beard Construction has completed a major rebuild of Mary Hare School in Newbury, the UK’s largest school for the deaf. Five years ago, Mary Hare developed an ambitious plan to build a new school and relocate the Primary School onto the Secondary School site at Snelsmore.

Delighted pupils and teachers moved into the new facility this week.

The acoustically optimised primary school and three-storey boarding house will bring together primary and secondary pupils on the campus for the first time, accommodating 48 primary pupils with 32 residential spaces.

Nestling into the hillside, the new school building sees six classrooms arranged in a curve with expansive views across the landscape.

The entire space has been designed to enhance the learning experience for young deaf people. This includes cutting-edge acoustics in a d-shaped building, which amplifies how speech is carried throughout the school – backed by Mary Hare’s bespoke engineered, group aid system that operates wirelessly between pupils and teachers in the classroom.

Each classroom opens onto an outdoor learning terrace with stairs and slides leading down to soft play areas. The 123-acre site includes a private woodland for the pupils to play and learn in.

The new buildings have underfloor heating, heated by an air source pump, with solar panels installed on the roof of the boarding house. The facility also includes a multi-sports facility, courtyard, design and technology room, music room, food tech area, as well as speech and language rooms and an early-years classroom with its own toilet.

Jamie Harwood, Beard’s Swindon director, said: “Our expertise in the education sector means we understand the importance of creating spaces which both promote a culture of learning for pupils and are world-class workplaces for teachers and staff.

“Beard is proud to have delivered a resource of such national importance for the teaching of deaf children.”

Robin Askew, Principal of Mary Hare, said: “We are delighted to be starting the new school year with our brand-new primary school. This project has been a long time in the making and it has been fantastic to work with Beard, who have been incredibly professional throughout the process and have built us a truly exceptional school, designed to meet the specific needs of deaf children. We are now the proud owners of a state-of-the-art school that will be supporting young deaf children for many years to come.

“Having both schools together on one site will lead to greater efficiencies and collaboration while moving forward with a ‘together but separate’ approach. The opening of the new school holds close to our mission to transform the lives of deaf children and their families. I hope that lots of families with primary aged deaf children will come and see the new school for themselves.  We are here to provide the very best support for their children.”