Beaulieu Primary School

Chelmsford’s fast growing Beaulieu suburb needed a new primary school to serve its expanding community.

Essex County Council set out to deliver a Net Zero Carbon school designed for comfort, wellbeing and long-term resilience.

Engineering sustainability into every layer

We were appointed by R G Carter Construction to deliver building services engineering, sustainability consultancy, energy modelling and climate-based daylight modelling for the new school.

The project supports a major new neighbourhood of around 3,000 homes, providing 420 additional school places alongside a sports hall and dining facilities.

To meet future climate needs, we carried out overheating assessments based on a 2050 scenario and developed simple, passive measures to manage heat. Glazing was optimised and solar shading added to the south facing façade, letting winter warmth in while preventing summer overheating.

The SIPS envelope delivers strong thermal performance and airtightness, while our services strategy aligns with LETI energy benchmarks. We also modelled daylight across teaching spaces, ensuring classrooms receive consistent natural light and reducing reliance on artificial lighting – because a good classroom should feel bright without flicking a switch.

Early operational data suggests the building has exceeded the client’s Net Zero ambition, generating around 10% more energy from photovoltaics than it uses.

A Net Zero school, ready for the future

The completed school provides a high-performance, low-energy learning environment designed around comfort and wellbeing. A passive-first approach supports thermal stability, daylight quality and climate resilience – a building that works quietly in the background so teachers and pupils can focus on the day ahead. And it does all this while meeting the everyday needs of a busy, growing school community.

Expanding education, reducing emissions

Beaulieu Primary School demonstrates how new education buildings can respond to population growth while meeting ambitious climate targets. By combining passive design, careful modelling and efficient services, the school delivers modern learning space today while reducing operational carbon for decades to come.