Stowmarket High School students lay blockwork as £10m expansion reaches watertight stage

Students at Stowmarket High School helped lay external blockwork on their own new teaching block as Barnes Construction and Concertus marked the building becoming watertight ahead of winter, the contractor announced on 10 November.

The milestone was marked with a topping-out event attended by students, school representatives, local councillors and the project team, Barnes Construction said. The two-storey block is designed to lift the Suffolk school's capacity from 900 to 1,200 students.

The contractor said students had taken part in the external blockwork as work on the building envelope continued. It is the latest in a run of hands-on involvement: Mid Suffolk District Council reported that students signed the steelwork at a steel-signing event in June 2026.

Adam Pickering, Head of School at Stowmarket High School, said: "Our students have also enjoyed following the construction journey, from the footings being poured through to topping out, gaining valuable insight into how a new building comes together."

The building

The new block will contain 11 classrooms, a group room, a new hall and new toilets, according to Barnes. Alongside it, the existing hall and kitchen in the main building are being upgraded and reconfigured.

An older block is also being refurbished and repurposed. Barnes and Concertus describe it as the former Oasis block; Mid Suffolk District Council's earlier releases refer to the former sixth form block.

Charles Coulson, Associate Director at Concertus, said: "It was particularly special to have students join us to mark the occasion, as ultimately this new building is about creating the additional space and facilities they, and future generations, will benefit from."

Damien Kerry, Associate Divisional Director at Barnes Construction, said the firm was pleased to host the event and give councillors, teachers and students a chance to see the building taking shape.

The funding

Mid Suffolk District Council put the total cost of the expansion at around £10m when its cabinet approved Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding in September 2025. The council's release gave the CIL figure as £4.83m; Cllr Andrew Stringer, the council's Cabinet Member for Heritage, Planning and Infrastructure, rounded it to £4.8m at the topping out.

Funding source	£m
Mid Suffolk District Council CIL	4.83
Section 106 contributions	3.55
Suffolk County Council	1.6

Cllr Stringer said the CIL contribution "helps local infrastructure keep pace with housing growth". Cllr Tony Gould, Cabinet Member for Education and SEND at Suffolk County Council, said the project would add capacity to meet future demand for secondary places.

Mid Suffolk District Council said Suffolk County Council had estimated that a further 300 places would be needed within four years, with 200 needed in 2026 and the remaining 100 by 2029. The school currently has capacity for 900 students aged 11 to 16.

The timeline

Suffolk County Council ran a non-statutory pre-application consultation on the expansion from 14 to 27 January 2025, proposing a standalone teaching block to the west of the main building. That consultation gave a target date for use of September 2026.

Planning permission was secured in September 2025, according to Mid Suffolk District Council, and a groundbreaking event marked the formal start of works in March 2026. By then the council was giving completion as early 2027. Mid Suffolk said progress since March had been helped by warm, dry weather across Suffolk, with summer works focused on the roof and external cladding.

Barnes said it was appointed to deliver the scheme for Suffolk County Council, working alongside Concertus Design and Property Consultants. The project is jointly developed by Suffolk County Council and the Kingfisher Schools Trust, which runs the school.

What happens next

With the building now watertight, Barnes said work will move inside over the coming months, including mechanical and electrical installations and first fix. The contractor said the project remains on track for completion in early 2027, and Mr Pickering said the school expects to move into the new facilities in 2027.