Filling the pupil place shortage

Councils are facing an huge challenge in responding to the recent surge in demand for school places, thanks partly to a rise in immigration and a high birth rate.
    
The Department for Education (DfE) estimated that 417,000 additional places will be needed over the lifetime of the current Parliament (2010-2015), with the surge in primary places beginning to move through to secondary schools.
    
Many councils are looking at innovative solutions to provide extra pupil places, with some opening new primaries in police stations and church halls, and one school opening a playground on a roof top. And many are using modular buildings which are cost-effective and less disruptive than on-site construction.
    
Commenting on the issue, Robert Snook, director and general manager of Portakabin Hire said: “High levels of international migration and increasing birth rates are putting acute pressure on primary school places nationwide, with particular rises in demand being seen in London, the South East and in the major cities such as Bristol and Birmingham.”
    
“The provision of teaching accommodation using modular construction is a highly effective solution that more LEAs are turning to, allowing them to react very quickly to an increase in demand for places, which can be very difficult to predict. However, if a child is learning in an interim building for two years that could be one third of their time at that school – so the quality of the education environment has to be of the very highest standards.”
    
Modular buildings can benefit schools for a variety of reasons. Programme times are reduced by up to 50 per cent and buildings are delivered with much less disruption to teaching than if construction was to take place on site. The designs are highly flexible and with the use of good-quality materials and a robust steel-framed construction, modular buildings are suitable for the most demanding school situation. It is also a sustainable alternative to site-based building methods, with less waste, improved building performance and fewer vehicle movements to site.

EXTRA PLACES IN LONDON
North Beckton Primary and Colegrave School in the London Borough of Newham have added two interim teaching buildings to cater for extra places needed, while redevelopment works for a permanent site are carried out.

North Beckton Primary has been taken from two to three form entry, increasing the number of places from 60 to 90. A double classroom block is now in use for the next two years until a new permanent building is constructed.
    
Commenting on the project, Manjit Rai, Head Teacher at North Beckton Primary, said, “Feedback about the interim classrooms from teaching staff and the parents of children in year four who are now using them has been very positive. The rooms are large, warm, comfortable and rather lovely. Everyone is happy with their accommodation and we would recommend the approach to other schools with similar needs.”

The buildings, which were supplied by Foremans Relocatable Building Systems, a company that supplies pre-owned Portakabin buildings, were delivered eight weeks from receipt of order and were installed outside term‑time to avoid any disruption to teaching. Each building comprises two classrooms, which were delivered to site around 70 per cent complete, further reducing time and disruption to local residents.

MORE SPACE IN BRISTOL
In 2012, Bristol City Council commissioned a range of permanent and interim classroom solutions to create an additional 630 primary places in 12 schools across the city.
    
The buildings, supplied by Portakabin, provided a series of buildings ranging from single classrooms hired for up to two years, to a permanent two‑storey brick‑clad building with a lift and suspended ceilings.

All the classrooms were supplied to tight timeframes and with features such as toilets, climate control, access ramps, security and alarm systems, children’s sinks, finger guards on doors and projector mountings.

A GROWING LEICESTERSHIRE SCHOOL
In August last year, a new two-storey teaching block was added to an expanding Leicestershire school, and has been described by the school’s business manager as an “iconic building.”

One of the highest-performing state schools in Leicestershire, Martin High School in Anstey, was expanding from a middle school for 11-14 year olds to a secondary school, catering for 11-16 year olds. A new building was then needed to accommodate 50 per cent more pupils over the next two years.

The new facility, provided by Yorkon, provided eight classrooms and 12 toilets. The pre-installed high performance concrete floor has been used to deliver superior acoustics and a robust finish for a demanding secondary school environment. Full-height curtain walling to the entrance has created an impressive exterior and a combination of spandrel panels between floors, brickwork and cedar cladding give the scheme a distinctive and contemporary appearance.

Off-site construction allowed the building to be delivered with much less disruption than a site-based solution and the modules were installed over a weekend.

Martin High School’s Business Manager, Sue Plunkett, said: “This was a new venture for the school and we have been very pleased with both the finished result and the construction process. The building is designed to make the most of the fantastic views from the windows of the nearby beauty spot, Bradgate Park. The design of the cladding blends in well with the countryside and we have created a truly iconic building for the school.”

TWO-STORY MODULAR CLASSROOM
Ninestiles School – an outstanding ‘convertor’ academy in Birmingham – added a two-storey modular classroom building in a tight timescale in order to meet stringent funding requirements.  
    
The scheme involved the use of a large 350-tonne crane to lift the steel and concrete building modules over the top of the existing school building and into a totally enclosed courtyard. Working closely with Thomas Vale and the school, the installation was timed to coincide with the half-term holiday, minimising any disruption to teaching.
    
The building has provided the school with six new classrooms to help meet the increased demand for places and has replaced an outdated facility. Features include brick cladding to the ground floor with a contrasting white finish to the upper floor; windows, doors and aluminium cladding panels in anthracite grey; a full height glazed stairwell, and a link corridor to the main school.
    
The facility also has a high performance concrete floor throughout, which was pre‑installed in the Yorkon factory to further reduce work on site. This is a robust design option for high traffic areas and to reduce sound transmission.

Commenting on the project, Christine Quinn, Principal of Ninestiles School, said: “We really love the new building. Its design is fresh and modern, and the use of glass makes it light and airy. Two of the classrooms on each floor can be opened up into one large flexible space which allows more creative use of the teaching accommodation when we need it.”

OXFORDSHIRE
Dashwood Academy in Banbury, Oxfordshire has had six new modular classrooms added. There were several reasons why a modular build programme was preferred. While reduced cost is one advantage, the urgent need to accommodate rising pupil intake meant a speedy build time was also vital.
    
The new rooms constructed by Wernick will allow the school to increase pupil numbers by 180. They will house the older children in the more modern classrooms. The pupil-led school council were involved in the construction process at the early stages, with children deciding on where play equipment was to be relocated to make way for the new building.
    
Dashwood Academy had a very clear vision for the layout of the building, with each classroom needing to be spacious with ample storage space, and wet role play areas within the classrooms. A neighbouring toilet facility attached to each classroom layout was also a must. Wernick Buildings carried out the whole project, from initial enquiry stage to planning, design, groundworks, delivery through to completion. The climate controlled classrooms are hi-tech, and feature the latest IT equipment including large touch screen wall mounted TVs.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Three two-storey curriculum wings for the new Cambourne Village College in Cambridgeshire have been constructed using a revolutionary new off-site building system.
    
The secondary school provides teaching accommodation for 750 pupils aged 11 to 16, helping to meet the growing demand for places following an increase in housing locally and rising birth rates in the area that are significantly higher than national trends.
    
The new Yorkon off-site building system that was specified for the three teaching wings reduced the number of steel‑framed modules by half to just 60, which were craned into position in just two weeks. This solution was more sustainable because it reduced the number of vehicle movements and work on site, and there are fewer internal columns to facilitate space planning and any future reconfiguration required to meet changing local needs

Each module was delivered to site with a high performance concrete floor already in place, further reducing work on site, improving quality and acoustics, and providing a robust finish for a demanding secondary school environment.
    
Commenting on the project, Sean Sumner, deputy head at Cambourne Village College said: “The children and staff absolutely love their new school and you would never know the teaching wings were built in a factory. The feel is very solid and robust and we particularly like the amount of space and light, the wide corridors and the size of the classrooms.”
    
“Building work in schools can cause huge disruption to teaching and there is the safety aspect to consider – with off-site construction you can minimise the impact of those issues. If we need to expand the school in the coming years, we would definitely consider an off-site solution again, which would give us the opportunity to increase capacity very quickly and easily.”
    
The school campus features a central mall with three teaching wings radiating from it and a series of sheltered courtyards to encourage outdoor learning. The ends of the curriculum blocks each have full height stair towers and a balcony at first floor level creating an additional outside space. There are also circulation areas which open on to the central core with no divisions between zones to allow passive surveillance to reduce bullying and anti-social behaviour.
    
The west wing is dedicated to science and technology, the central wing houses generic classrooms for maths, languages and humanities, and facilities for IT and art are located in the east wing. A cross laminated timber structure was used for the central core that accommodates the larger communal spaces such as the dining hall, sports halls and gym. The building has been clad in a combination of timber, dark brickwork and render to create a strong identity for the new school and to reflect the surrounding landscape. Render was used for the teaching areas, interspersed with panels of timber cladding.

ADDING A SIXTH FORM CENTRE
In 2011, Wymondham High in Norfolk, which now has Academy status, benefited from a dedicated sixth form centre developed using a highly sustainable recycled modular building.
    
The additional teaching accommodation was needed at the time as the school caters for over 1,600 pupils, with 400 in the sixth form from the start of the 2011/12 academic year and plans are in place to increase pupil numbers to 2,000.
    
The purpose-designed facility by Foremans Relocatable Building Systems, was craned into position in just one day during the school holidays to minimise disruption to staff and students. The single-storey building accommodates five seminar rooms for students studying social sciences, and sixth form facilities, including a break-out area, toilets and administration office.
    
Commenting on the new building, Victoria Musgrave, Principal at Wymondham High Academy said: “This project has definitely exceeded our expectations and both staff and students are genuinely thrilled with it. They like the ambience it has created, the flexibility of the space, and the fact that we now have a dedicated facility for our sixth form.”

LEEDS SCHOOLS GO MODULAR
Since May 2012, Leeds City Council has been improving its school buildings using a modular approach. Three modular buildings have been built to provide a total of 3380m2 of accommodation to the Roundhay, Bracken Edge and Wykebeck area.
 
Bracken Edge Primary School was a phased demolition of an existing single story flat roofed primary school classroom accommodation with partial refurbishment of existing hall.
    
The new two story steel framed nursery and primary school was constructed off site at Premier Interlink.
The new accommodation was built to link to the existing arts & office buildings. The classrooms were designed on a single basis to provide a compact and energy efficient build, the complete size of the build was 15 modules at 440m2 total.
    
The external finish was completed to match the existing building using the same palate of materials and colours, brick slips and composite panels. The classrooms have skylights providing both natural ventilation and appropriate ray lighting levels.
    
For Roundhay, the scheme consisted of a new primary school which has been developed as a second site for Roundhay School, extending their overall age range from 18 years down to 4.
    
A key feature of the site is the difference in levels across the site which slopes up from Wetherby Road. The Primary Campus, for 4 –11 year olds, operates as a ‘split site’ part of Roundhay School.
    
The building provides 14 classrooms, a large hall, a small hall, a learning resource centre, design and technology space, group rooms, office and staff areas, storage, toilets, kitchen and plant areas.
    
The school is of modest proportions, planned over two storeys with an approximate 7.5 metres to the eaves and 9 metres to the ridge.
    
The school’s design has been developed to provide a quality environment while minimising the use of energy and carbon output. The building is well insulated with good levels of daylight and provided with natural ventilation.
    
The building solution delivered balances the provision of thermal comfort, robust design solutions and low energy delivery to provide a high quality primary school facility.
    
Premier Interlink constructed the 52 bays built and fitted out at Premier Interlink’s factory in the East Riding of Yorkshire, before being delivered to the site for installation.