Green light for innovative teacher training hub in the North East

Green light for innovative teacher training hub in the North East

Corde – ADP’s multidisciplinary offering with AKS Ward and
KJ Tait – has successfully achieved planning for a major new teacher training
hub at Sedgefield Community College, in County Durham. By providing exceptional
vocational training for local graduates, the hub will help the North East to
keep skilled graduates in the region, training them to pass on their knowledge
to the next generation.

The hub is being delivered through a partnership between the
Laidlaw Schools Trust (which includes Sedgefield Community College) and Durham
University. The building links to an existing annex, and includes new social
and teaching spaces, as well as a large auditorium.

Corde employed numerous structural innovations in the design.
Their fabric-first approach ensures that the building will be highly
sustainable once in use, and the hub includes a green roof and wind-catchers to
aid natural ventilation.

Dave Davies, Director of School Improvement (Secondary) at the Laidlaw Schools Trust, said: “Today's exciting announcement means that Sedgefield will soon have a truly inspirational facility where student teachers, many of whom will take up posts at Laidlaw Schools Trust academies, will be able to learn from some of the most talented and successful teachers in the North East. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Laidlaw Foundation for their exceptional support without which our ambitious vision would not be about to become reality.”