en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Planning Committee of Cumbria County Council recently held a special meeting and unanimously approved the reconstruction plan for Cockermouth School. Led by the UK Department for Education and delivered by contractor Bowmer + Kirkland (B+K), the project is valued at over £40 million. The new campus will accommodate 1,440 students and 135 full-time staff.
Cockermouth School is located on Castlegate Drive in the town of Cockermouth, Cumbria. The existing school buildings consist of seven structures built in different eras, posing significant challenges in functionality, accessibility, energy efficiency, and adaptability for modern teaching. Following the approval of the plan, the existing buildings will be demolished and replaced by a new modern campus covering 137,000 square feet (approximately 12,700 square meters). The reconstruction project includes three core components: a main teaching building, a dedicated sports hall, and the relocation of the existing all-weather pitch to the northern side of the new campus.
During construction, the existing school will continue to operate normally, ensuring no disruption to students' education. The project will be carried out in phases, requiring the installation of temporary teaching modules on the western side of the campus for approximately two years. After the new buildings are completed, the final phase will involve constructing multi-purpose sports fields and parking lots on the site of the original school buildings. The extensive existing sports facilities on campus will be retained or upgraded as part of the renovation.
The reconstruction is commissioned by the UK Department for Education, with Bowmer + Kirkland as the construction partner. The planning consultant is DPP, and the architectural design is led by Bond Bryan, with the team also including Hexa, Anderson Green, One Environments, Arup, Ramboll, Innovare, OFR, and 2P among other specialist firms. Bowmer + Kirkland is one of the UK's leading building engineering contractors. According to industry data, the company topped the UK school construction contractor list in May 2026 with a total project value of £203.7 million.
This reconstruction will consolidate the scattered, aging school buildings into a single modern campus that meets contemporary standards, providing significantly improved educational facilities for the local community. The project is also a key initiative in the UK government's efforts to modernize educational infrastructure.
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