‘A village, not a school’ – Liverpool planners back pioneering send school


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iverpool 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’.


Modern efficiency meets heritage with Hamworthy Heating


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amworthy Heating, a trusted British manufacturer and supplier of commercial heating and hot water products, has supplied its Modumax mk3 modular condensing boilers and Powerstock calorifiers to Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge. Installed within a Grade I Listed building; the new system delivers an efficient heating and hot water solution tailored to the unique challenges of the site.


The project involved replacing an ageing plant room in the basement of the college, where access was severely restricted and space limited. These constraints ruled out traditional large-scale plant equipment and required a compact system that could be transported through narrow doorways without structural alterations.


The chosen system features four Modumax mk3 floor-standing condensing boilers (196 / 392V) delivering 1,532 kW total across eight modules. These are integrated with two Hamworthy Heating Powerstock PS500 indirect calorifiers to provide domestic hot water for the college.


Hamworthy Heating’s Modumax mk3 range is specifically designed with retrofit projects in mind. The modular format allows boilers to be dismantled and manoeuvred into confined spaces before being reassembled in position, providing the flexibility needed for heritage environments where plantroom layout and access present unique challenges. By combining the modular boilers with Powerstock calorifiers, the system delivers both efficient heating and a reliable domestic hot water supply for the college.


To ensure precision, the project team used Hamworthy’s 3D digital design tools to plan the plant room layout in detail. This approach enabled much of the pipework to be prefabricated offsite, which streamlined the installation, and ensured that new equipment could be delivered in stages and installed in a single operation.


“The 3D models allowed us to coordinate the plant room before we even stepped on site. It saved time and helped everything run efficiently. Careful delivery planning also meant the installation could be completed in one single day,” explains Geoff Bunton of Bunton M&E Services.


The completed upgrade now provides Corpus Christi College with a robust, futureproof heating and hot water system that improves efficiency, reduces emissions, and meets the demands of its academic community, all while preserving the integrity of its historic setting.


www.hamworthy-heating.com Winter 2026 issue 4182 19


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