Hilltop School: First phase of major £3m upgrade completes on Rotherham school
Henry Boot Construction has completed the first phase of a major £3m pro bono project to transform Hilltop School in Rotherham – a special educational needs school supporting 180 children with complex needs.
The first phase of the Yorkshire Children’s Charity and Nexus Multi Academy Trust project was officially unveiled at a celebratory event and site tour.
The milestone marked the completion of extensive internal reconfigurations, including demolition, the installation of new partition walls, and re-opening up space by removing an independent steel frame structure over the internal courtyard.
Ian Gresser, head of pre-construction at Henry Boot Construction, said: “Completing the first phase at Hilltop School is a fantastic milestone for everyone involved. We’re incredibly proud to have been the first contractor on site to kickstart this project and to see real progress already taking shape.”
Delivered within a 15-week programme, the works have created four new classrooms, with associated WC and kitchenette facilities, as well as staff spaces.
Delivered in partnership with Yorkshire Children’s Charity through its Great Yorkshire Build initiative, the scheme is replacing temporary buildings with purpose-built facilities designed to meet pupils’ complex learning and accessibility needs.
More than 50 Yorkshire-based construction firms have collaborated on the project.
Works on the transformation started in July 2025, with further phases set to include new-build classrooms and a rebound centre – an area designed to host therapeutic spaces.
Founder and chief executive of Yorkshire Children’s Charity, Charlotte Farrington, said: “Hilltop School has been our biggest and most ambitious Great Yorkshire Build to date, and the way the Yorkshire property industry has rallied behind this project is nothing short of phenomenal. The children at Hilltop finally have the supportive, nurturing environment they deserve, and their teachers now have the tools and spaces they need to do their job.”