Morgan Sindall Construction’s Cardiff and Bristol business has celebrated the successful handover of the new Olympus Building at Abbeywood Community School in Stoke Gifford, following the initial completion of internal upgrades works in spring 2025.
The new Olympus Building will open for use immediately after the February half‑term, expanding the school’s capacity to 1,500 pupils in response to growing local demand for secondary school places.
Procured by the council via the SCAPE Construction framework – which accelerates delivery whilst ensuring both time and cost certainty for public sector clients – the first phase of works included extending the dance studio, refurbishing and decarbonising the existing kitchen, and reconfiguring the changing room facilities.
This was followed by the delivery of the new Olympus Building, which provides 10 new classrooms alongside dedicated office space, a staff working room, and enhanced welfare and accessible facilities.
In line with Morgan Sindall’s commitment to deliver sustainable buildings, the project team installed photovoltaic (PV) panels to the roof and air source heat pumps, helping to reduce the school’s operational carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.
Throughout the project, the tier one contractor implemented its 10 Tonne Challenge which encourages project teams to work collaboratively with consultants and the supply chain to find Intelligent Solutions that reduce construction-related carbon emissions from the construction process by at least 10 tonnes.
The team far exceeded this target, achieving a reduction of 148 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) through the use of electric arc furnace steel, timber waste recycling with Community Wood, and the reuse of concrete hoarding blocks from another Morgan Sindall scheme. This saving – measured using CarboniCa, an intelligent carbon‑reduction tool developed by Morgan Sindall Group and Once For All – is the equivalent to heating 55 UK homes for a year.
Morgan Sindall also piloted one of the construction industry’s first zero-waste plasterboard programmes on the project, in partnership with British Gypsum. As part of the trial, a large volume of plasterboard was pre-cut off-site, weighed, and monitored to minimise waste and improve efficiency.
Working closely with NVB Architects, consultants and subcontractors, Morgan Sindall also utilised the digital construction tool, Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), to improve accuracy in programming and planning. By using the tool in conjunction with the wider team, the platform enabled improved accuracy in planning and programming, with detailed design coordination and clash detection resolved before construction even commenced.
Rob Williams, Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction in Cardiff and Bristol, said:
“We’re all so proud to have handed over the expanded Abbeywood Community School, which will provide outstanding facilities for pupils, staff, and the wider community for many years to come. Delivering works within a live school environment requires close collaboration, and I’d like to thank Abbeywood Community School and South Gloucestershire Council for their continued cooperation and support throughout works to bring this project to life.
“It’s been a true privilege to play a part in supporting education in the region and leaving a positive, lasting legacy for the local community.”
