Steel Signing Celebration for Next Construction Milestone

On Wednesday 17 September, Hewett Academy, in Norwich, reached the latest construction milestone for section one of the rebuild project.

After a successful demolition programme, the first phase of steel has been erected for the East Wing, a brand new teaching wing. To mark this milestone, teams from across the project came together with key project members, stakeholders and students to sign the steel.

The construction programme is on schedule and the East Wing of the Academy is due to complete in Summer 2026, ready for the school to move in. Work will then commence on the West Wing of Hewett Academy.

Representatives from our school, Inspiration Trust, Kier, LSI and the Department for Education came together to celebrate how far the project has already come.

A tour of the site as it stands showed the huge amount of progress made since Kier started construction work in February 2025. The skyline from Hall Road has changed significantly with the demolition of the unused sixth form building and replacement of the East Wing.

Antony Little, Principal at Hewett Academy said:

“It is a great joy to look across the field and see that each day the new school is developing and growing.  We are so pleased with the work of the Kier group who are creating a new purpose-built school that will match the aspirations of the Hewett students.  This will be an incredible resource and a building that the whole community can be proud of.”

The rebuild of the school has been funded by the Department for Education, as part of the multi-million-pound School Rebuilding Programme. This programme aims to give students across the country the best possible spaces to learn, designed from the ground up to build successful futures.

Kier was appointed to rebuild the school and has been achieving every milestone on the way to completion. The steel signing celebration is a fantastic tradition to mark the start of the next phase of construction, which will focus on the completion of the precast floors.

Tom Martin, regional director, Kier Construction Eastern & Midlands said:

“This fantastic new building is progressing well and reaching this milestone is a great achievement for all involved. The transformation of Hewett Academy is an exciting opportunity to provide staff, students and the school community with a modern, first-class learning space, in an energy efficient environment.

“This project is not just about constructing a new school - at Kier we are committed to leaving a lasting legacy for local communities. So far for this project we have delivered over £3m worth of social value, including more than 250 hours of education and community engagement. This is local impact in action - a core part of our delivery model - and we look forward to giving back to the community as the project progresses."