The school will be built as part of Homes England’s Brookleigh development near Burgess Hill.

The school has been designed by Atkins to be zero-carbon, generating its own renewable energy on site without using any fossil fuels. Nearly 1,000 solar photovoltaic panels are expected to generate 296,000 kWh of energy a year. It aims to be the first school in the county of West Sussex to achieve Passivhaus certification.

West Sussex County Council has approved capital funding of £57.06m to build the school, making it the largest capital project the council has ever delivered. This includes an £18.16m contribution from Homes England as part of the overall Brookleigh development.

The school is being delivered through the County Council’s multi-disciplinary consultancy partnership with Faithful & Gould, Atkins and Cundalls leading on the design.

The LED lighting will be controlled automatically by daylight and movement detection. The main building will have fresh air ventilation, modulating temperature inside the building.

Richard Christmas, lead designer at Atkins, said: “This is a really positive step forward for the proposed school which has been designed to promote well-being and educational attainment for all learners who use the building and create a project with a low environmental impact.”

Nigel Jupp, West Sussex county council cabinet member for learning and skills, said: “Planning approval marks a major milestone in our ambition to create an environmentally-friendly and high-quality new secondary school in Mid Sussex. It is uniquely designed to achieve Passivhaus certification and lead the way in energy efficiency. In addition, Brookleigh families will be able to walk or cycle to their new place of education, again demonstrating the county council’s commitment to significantly reducing carbon emissions as part of our climate change strategy.”

The University of Brighton Academies Trust will run the new school as part of an ‘all-through’ primary and secondary school named The Bedelands Academy. The primary element is being developed and funded separately by Homes England on a nearby site.

The target is to have the school built and ready for its first intake of around 120 year-seven students in September 2025. It will eventually accommodate 900 pupils.

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