Education, Health & Social

Alkerden Academy

Project Details

Client
Camland
Location
Ebbsfleet Garden City, Kent
Year
2018 – present
Services
Landscape Architecture

Overview

“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think” – Albert Einstein

On behalf of master developer Henley Camland, Define has been deeply involved in shaping the landscape architecture for Alkerden Academy since 2018. We provided landscape architecture design services through RIBA Stages 2–4 and continued to support the project team through a client-side compliance role for RIBA Stage 5.

As one of the largest new educational developments in Kent, the impressive 11.1-hectare campus provides over 2,200 new places across a comprehensive range of facilities, including a nursery, a 2-Form Entry (2FE) primary school, an 8-Form Entry (8FE) secondary school, and a sixth form. Beyond education, the campus features a dynamic sports centre and dual-use community sports provision, offering high-quality facilities accessible to the public in the evenings and on weekends.

Landscape vision

Our work at Alkerden Academy is part of Define’s long-standing, strategic involvement across the wider Whitecliffe development. As is the case with the wider development dramatic level changes provided a brilliant design opportunity. A cascading series of terraces and split levels, taking inspiration from the quarry landscape, was designed to assimilate with the building creating a seamless threshold between indoor and outdoor learning.

The campus is held together by a north-south axis that runs through the site connecting the secondary school courtyard and sports centre in the south to the cycle hub at the centre and sports pitches to the north.

The outcome

The campus opened in September 2026 and we are delighted with the result. We look forward to watching the planting establish and mature over the coming years to create a thriving environment for pupils, staff, and the wider community.

We’re particularly pleased to see the steps taken during the design process to encourage active travel over vehicular access now bearing fruit.