St Josephine Bakhita Catholic Primary School

<p class="rteBlock" data-auto="rte-block">St Josephine Bakhita Catholic Primary School is a Catholic primary school in the growing Five Farms estate in Clyde North, part of the St Thomas the Apostle Parish. The school opened its doors in 2025 and is building toward a long term enrollment of around 700 students, so its facilities need to serve a community that is still taking shape. This was the school&#x27;s first covered outdoor learning area, so the brief called for a partner able to manage the full scope from design through to a finished structure.</p>

<p class="rteBlock" data-auto="rte-block">The school needed greater protection over its outdoor courts, to keep them usable across a wider range of weather conditions than an open court allows. The challenge was to deliver a substantial double court structure that provided real weather protection without creating a dark, enclosed feel underneath, in a finish that would sit well against the rest of the school. Safety and a considered architectural outcome were central to the brief from the outset.</p>

<p class="rteBlock" data-auto="rte-block">Steelcorp partnered with builder Bowden Corporation to bring the project to life, working collaboratively across design, coordination and construction. Our scope covered structural design and engineering coordination, in-house steel manufacturing, foundations, structural steel installation, roofing, soffit lining, skylights and perimeter cladding, delivered as a single point of accountability for the finished structure. </p><br><p class="rteBlock" data-auto="rte-block">Full underside soffit lining was installed for bird proofing and a clean finished appearance, and integrated skylights bring natural light into the space, directly addressing the risk of a dark or closed in feel under a roof of this scale. Perimeter cladding skirts add a further layer of weather protection around the edges of the structure, reinforcing the architectural finish across the whole build.</p>

<p class="rteBlock" data-auto="rte-block">Students and staff now have access to a safer, more comfortable and dependable outdoor environment throughout the year. The covered courts increase the number of activities that can run outdoors regardless of the weather, and give the school a large-scale gathering space suited to sport, physical education, assemblies and community events.</p><br><p class="rteBlock" data-auto="rte-block">As enrolments grow toward the school&#x27;s long term capacity, the COLA gives the school a flexible piece of infrastructure built to grow with it. What was once a pair of exposed courts is now a protected, multi-purpose space at the centre of daily school life.</p>