Greenshaw High School

						
							Client						

							Bowmer + Kirkland

						
							Solution						

							Rental

						
							Size						

							Three-storeys, 186 modules, 6,671 m²

						
							Install time 						

							25 days

The Brief

Supply a large-scale temporary school to support the development of a new permanent facility.

Greenshaw High School, in Sutton, South West London, is a renowned comprehensive school that teaches pupils aged between 11-18 years. Rated “Outstanding” by Ofsted, the school was founded in the 1960s and today provides education for over 1,960 students.

As part of the Department for Education’s (DfE) School Rebuilding Programme, Greenshaw’s original buildings were set for demolition and due to be replaced by modernised education facilities. Led by Bowmer + Kirkland, the project needed two blocks of high quality temporary classrooms to decant pupils and ensure education could continue whilst demolition and construction of the school took place.

Having worked on a number of successful projects together in the past, Bowmer + Kirkland chose us to supply this large-scale modular education facility that would both align with the DfE-provided Schedule of Accommodation and provide a purpose-built space for pupils’ needs.

Internal Classroom, Computer room, Greenshaw

Internal, Classroom, Highschool, Greenshaw

The building features

Greenshaw High School’s modular facility is the largest education project we have supplied to date.

To accommodate the large number of pupils and teachers, we supplied two modular buildings comprising three-storeys and spanning 6,671 m². The interior layouts of each building included a full mix of specialist classrooms, dining areas, staff rooms and a server room. The construction method used for the school is highly sustainable and supports a circular economy as the modules used for this project are designed to be easily disassembled and reused.

Features of the buildings include:

A large-scale facility, featuring a mix of specialist and adaptable general classrooms. This includes science and DT laboratories, drama and music studios, ICT suites, art and graphics rooms, and textiles rooms.
Electrical and plumbing services that adhere to DfE requirements.
Full furniture, fixtures and equipment fit-out to ensure the school was ready for immediate use at handover.
Platform lifts installed across both buildings to support accessibility between all floors.
Internal ceiling heights of 2.7m, creating a comfortable learning environment.
A Jackpad foundation system that reduced the need for concrete and minimised groundworks.

The challenges and solutions

Navigating DfE technical requirements

Greenshaw High School’s new temporary facility had to be delivered within the DfE Output Specification. While designed for safety, these guidelines can pose a number of complex technical challenges, particularly around electrical and plumbing design. Thanks to our first-hand experience delivering education buildings, we were able to tackle the extensive DfE specification even on a large-scale project.

To deliver the project, we adopted a highly collaborative approach, acting as a bridge between subcontractors, consultants and the main contractor to work out the technical details and progress approvals within a specified timeframe. Regular design workshops and detailed coordination meetings enabled the team to work through the large specification, achieving the required compliance.

Delivering a large-scale project to a live site

The new temporary buildings needed to be delivered whilst the school was still in operation, meaning that our team had to navigate a live site safely. As it was such a large building, we faced the challenge of a highly restricted footprint for delivery, which was also close to surrounding residential properties. This meant there was limited space for deliveries, storage and cranage. We also had to ensure that a safe environment for pupils and staff was maintained.

A carefully planned installation and cranage strategy was developed, allowing modules to be delivered and positioned safely within the space. Close coordination between ourselves, contractors and site teams allowed work to be carried out efficiently as modules were delivered and installed in 25 days.

To find out more about our temporary building hire solutions, speak to our specialist team today.