Willmott Dixon starts on £61m Wirral school

The main contractor is aiming for a 2028 completion for a larger, modern replacement for The Mosslands School in Wallasey.

Willmott Dixon was appointed to the build by the Department for Education, with plans having been submitted for the project last year.

When complete, there will be a three-storey secondary school on the northern part of the Wallacre playing fields. The current school will then be demolished on the 19-acre campus.

Ellis Williams Architects designed the new school, which will be nearly 20% larger than its predecessor, coming in at 172,100 sq ft. It will also be able to accommodate 400 more students, with a capacity of 1,500 pupils.

The new Mosslands has been engineered to be net zero carbon in operation through the use of solar panels, air source heat pumps, and ground source heat pumps.

“Creating a contemporary, sustainable school that will provide inspiring learning environments for up to 1,500 pupils is something we are extremely proud to be delivering,” said Mike Poole-Sutherland, North West director at Willmott Dixon.

“This new campus will benefit students, staff and the wider community for years to come and we’re pleased to be playing our part in making this happen.”

Mosslands headteacher Adrian Whiteley added: “This is a building that the students and community of Wallasey deserve. It will transform the learning environment and open up a world of possibilities for our students.”

He continued: “It also builds on the proud history we have in providing technological excellence and we are delighted that the DfE recognises the importance of this in a modern education setting.”

In addition to the main school building there will be two sports halls, an all-weather sports pitch, and multi-use games area. There will also be areas for cars and cycles to be stored.

As part of its social value programme, Willmott Dixon and its supply chain will support 20 T-Level students and provide more than 200 apprenticeship weeks.

Willmott Dixon’s contract was awarded through the DfE’s construction framework. It is one of £700m-worth of projects secured by the contractor on that framework.

The project team for Mosslands includes Oobe, Mace, Tace, Plan Red, Roscoe, Flinders Chase, EVR, and Pace Consult. You can learn more about the application, approved in October, by searching reference APP/25/00792 on Wirral Council’s planning portal.