A £34 million, 16,000m2 new school has been delivered in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.

Three Rivers Academy – formerly Rydens Enterprise School – is the new home for around 1800 students.


The building was designed by architect Scott Brownrigg, with Arup as structural engineer, Silcock Dawson as mechanical and electrical engineers, and the main contractor behind it was BAM Construction.

BAM drew on off-site manufacture for the structurally insulated panels (SIPs) and used exposed fair-faced concrete soffits, together with an extensive roof-mounted range of photovoltaic panels which helped the school achieve an energy performance certificate rating of A. Just over 2,000 people worked on the scheme at some point throughout the build.

The scheme includes a full-sized indoor basketball court and a 3G football pitch.

BAM’s project manager Keith Holt said:

“There were a number of technical challenges. The roof and ground conditions were difficult, and the design was distinctly bespoke. But the solution, as always with clever construction, relied on the strength of our partnerships and the collaborative way we work with our supply chain. I’m delighted that the school were so pleased with the building.”

Anne-Louise Payne, Head of School Three Rivers Academy, said:

“We are thrilled with our new state-of-the-art school. Our vision was to create a world-class learning environment for our students, and the project team have achieved this with a building that is designed for students’ present and future needs, and that is very much not a standard specification building. This has resulted in a professional, safe, accessible and inclusive environment for our staff, students and the wider community.”