The school complex currently consists of a four-storey main building with associated structures.

As part of the wider scheme, the work will see the current Queen Elizabeth High School and Hexham Middle School co-located on one site.

The Grade II listed building will be preserved, and the new buildings developed to its rear – with the middle school to the south and high school to the north.

With its new Casagrande C6XP-2 rig, Aarsleff will install 360No. soil nails of up to 12m in length over a 923m² face area.

To provide a safe working platform during the soil nail installation and to prevent cut face collapse, Aarsleff will carry out a staged top down construction.

Aarsleff’s final scope of works includes the provision of facing comprising a 150mm thick gabion mattress backfilled with granular material to provide an aesthetic finish.

Aarsleff’s Senior Geotechnical Consultant Dan Adams said: “We are delighted that Thompsons of Prudhoe have awarded us this soil nailing contract. We have worked closely on several schemes with Thompsons and we are delighted to further develop this collaborative relationship.

Aarsleff will be on site from June 2020 with completion expected by the end of July 2020 and the school set to open in September 2021.