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Providing temporary classrooms during a major heritage redevelopment.
Founded in 1972, King’s Academy Bay House in Gosport embarked on a major redevelopment in 2024 as part of the Department for Education’s School Rebuilding Programme (SRP)—a national initiative to rebuild and refurbish up to 500 schools and sixth‑form colleges by 2030.
At the heart of the Academy sits Bay House, a historic building originally constructed in the 1840s as a summer residence for the British aristocracy. While rich in character, the age of the building meant that significant modernisation was required to create a learning environment fit for today’s students and staff.
The redevelopment programme involved the demolition of six buildings and two temporary classrooms, the construction of three newly designed blocks, and extensive refurbishment works to preserve Bay House’s historic features.
To maintain continuity of teaching during construction, the Academy required a large‑scale temporary classroom solution to serve students and staff throughout term time. Working closely with main contractor Kier, Premier Modular was appointed to rapidly deliver a high‑quality, temporary modular building that would meet the school’s diverse teaching requirements while redevelopment works were underway.
Premier Modular was responsible for the design, manufacture, installation and full fit‑out of a modern temporary school building—delivered at pace and without compromise on quality.
Representing Premier Modular’s second‑largest education project to date, we delivered a four‑storey temporary classroom block comprising 133 modular units and 44 fully equipped classrooms. The building will remain in use for approximately two and a half years, providing high‑quality teaching accommodation while the main school buildings are refurbished.
Despite being a temporary structure, the building was designed to deliver exceptional learning environments suitable for a broad range of subjects. The internal layout was carefully planned to support effective teaching and flexibility across key stages, featuring:
The modular design provides long‑term adaptability, allowing spaces to evolve alongside the Academy’s teaching needs. Industry‑leading stacking capabilities enabled the creation of a compact footprint, preserving valuable outdoor space and minimising disruption to the school environment.
As part of the wider redevelopment programme, the building will be reconfigured after 18 months, with design and technology areas converted into science laboratories—demonstrating the flexibility and future‑proof nature of modular construction.
This single project clearly showcases the scale, adaptability and quality that modular buildings can bring to complex education environments.
Design challenges
One of the key challenges was the sheer scale and complexity of the project. The design needed to accommodate multiple subjects, year groups and specialist teaching environments, all within a temporary structure.
The programme was further affected by RAAC‑related delays, requiring changes to the original plans. As the scope evolved, Premier Modular introduced a phased design approach, allowing the building to be fully fitted out while accommodating future requirements, including the integration of gas services in Phase Two.
Close collaboration with Kier and the Academy was critical. By working jointly through the design and approvals process, we developed a flexible solution that adapted to changing priorities while keeping the project moving forward within tight timescales.
With construction taking place during term time, minimising disruption to pupils and staff was paramount. Modular construction enabled factory‑based manufacturing to run in parallel with onsite groundworks and foundations.
This combined onsite and offsite approach significantly reduced programme length compared to traditional construction methods and limited noise, vehicle movements and disruption during the school day. Works were phased to ensure teaching could continue uninterrupted throughout the build period.
Site logistics presented further challenges due to restricted access. To overcome this, a temporary access road was constructed, and a strict one‑in, one‑out delivery system was implemented to maintain safety within the live school setting.
Thanks to innovative planning, flexible design and precise delivery, the project was completed on time, to specification and with minimal disruption—meeting the Academy’s requirements at every stage.
To learn more about our temporary modular buildings for education, or to discuss an upcoming project, speak to our specialist team today.
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