Liverpool City Council has approved plans for a new primary school that will provide a model for SEND support nationally.
The centre will support 250 pupils with special educational needs and will be one of the UK’s largest single-storey facilities that covers the whole spectrum of SEND, from children who need some additional support to those with profound and multiple learning difficulties.
Ridge’s multidisciplinary team was brought in to design the purpose-built facility on a brownfield site off Princess Drive, Liverpool. It will bring together pupils from the existing Princes School who are currently spread across four sites in the city. The new school is expected to open in time for the 2029 academic year, following completion of construction and commissioning.
Princes School has doubled in size over the past seven years to support more than 200 children. With current facilities in Toxteth and Picton nearing the end of their life, the council approved a £37m investment in a new school building.
As a leader in systems thinking, Ridge was able to provide integrated multidisciplinary expertise spanning not only architecture, but engineering, building services, project management, planning, transport modelling, sustainability and cost management. Close collaboration with stakeholders at every stage shaped a functional, value-for-money design, resulting in a successful planning submission.
The Ridge team has designed a space that will be inspiring and inclusive, built closely around the children’s needs and inspired by the concept of the school as a ‘village’.
