LHC Architecture’s £22 million JCB Academy in Rocester, Staffordshire, has opened.

The four-year, £22m project in Rocester, Staffordshire, by LHC Architecture, involved transforming a derelict grade II* Arkwright cotton mill into a modern school, the first of its kind to focus on engineering.

Tutbury Mill, which dates back to the industrial revolution, was donated by the academy’s sponsor JCB, whose chairman, Anthony Bamford, is an architectural patron.

LHC Architecture carried out the masterplan, restored the mill, and added a large glazed wing and stand-alone sports facilities.