The Preston-based contractor has signed the deal with Wigan Council to relocate Hope School and College to the Central Park site on Montrose Avenue.

The award ranks among Conlon’s biggest school jobs to date.

Hope School caters for children and young people with severe learning difficulties and profound and complex physical and medical needs from across the borough.

Conlon will deliver two new specialist teaching buildings. The first will contain 13 primary classrooms alongside a hydrotherapy pool, kitchen, rebound room and reception offices.

A second building will provide 10 secondary classrooms, a dining hall and seven specialist resource rooms covering subjects including art, food technology and ICT.

An existing two-storey building on the site will also be converted to provide the school’s main administration centre and accommodation for pupils with the most complex needs.

External works will include new car parking and drop-off areas, playgrounds and landscaping.

The contract runs from September through to the end of July 2027.

Conlon became employee-owned in 2024 and has since continued to grow. Its latest accounts show turnover rising to around £55m in the year to October 2025, with pre-tax profit increasing to about £2m.