AN award-winning brick company has won a £78,000 contract to supply 31,000 bricks for the exterior of a new £2.5 million building.

York Handmade Brick Company of Alne, near Easingwold, is also supplying 4,300 terracotta tiles for the interior floor of the new Art and Design Technology Centre at Pocklington School, near York.

David Armitage, chairman of York Handmade, said: “Pocklington School has a long and proud artistic heritage and this stunning new building reflects this.

“Our increasingly popular linear Maxima Galtres bricks have been used on the building’s exterior, complementing the contemporary design and fitting in with the school’s architecture and landscape.

“We were commissioned by York architect Simon Mitchell, who has used our products on several projects before, to create a bespoke design of our Onda terracotta tiles, which have been used on 210sq metres of internal flooring.

“The design of the tiles is based on a 330mm diameter circle with two sides inverted to create an interlocking ‘wave’ type pattern, all in the natural looking material of York Handmade terracotta made from our own local Vale of York clay.”

Mr Mitchell said it was a joy working with York Handmade: “They are focused and flexible, understanding exactly what a customer needs, and skilled enough to provide exactly what is wanted.

“They have helped to create a magnificent building, which should inspire everyone who works within it.”

The original 1969 Art and Design Centre, a single-storey structure out of keeping with the rest of the school, has been removed to make way for the new building, which will be completed by November.

Mark Ronan, headmaster, said: “The project has been the focus of a major campaign by the school to raise funds to build the new centre in support of the next phase of the school’s strategic development plan.

“Designed to inspire the pursuit of traditional arts and crafts, plus provide cutting edge facilities for digital imaging, editing, animation and computer-aided design and manufacturing technology, the new centre will greatly enhance the pupils’ experience.”

The campaign total recently stood at almost £1.9m, with a final push underway to meet the £2m target.