Schools across the country are building better teaching environments to provide students with spaces that flex to their needs and improve their learning – while gaining benefits from offsite building techniques with our team.
It’s unsurprising that many schools are looking to expand intakes with improved buildings, as this September, only 83% of secondary school applicants got a confirmed place at their first-choice school. However, with low budgets and term time taking up 39 weeks of the year, it can be very difficult for schools to expand at the pace they need.
At Premier, we’ve been working with a number of schools across the country, including Hills Road Sixth Form College, Westfield House School and Luminate Printworks.
Hills Road Sixth Form College
Hills Road Sixth Form College needed to accommodate a rising student population. The school prides itself on high expectations and an environment that’s designed to encourage and motivate its pupils, which is why it’s decided to expand its physical space to match its learning environment.
Working collaboratively with architects and our team, the school chose a three-storey expansion, increasing its outdoor space with a versatile environment, including a rooftop terrace for students to enjoy during lunchtimes and free periods.
The project started onsite in August 2022 and is expected to be completed in December 2022, with all lifting and main traffic movements due to be completed outside of term time. By choosing our team to build additional physical spaces offsite, students at Hills Road Sixth Form College will have minimal disruption to their day-to-day learning.
Westfield House School
Based just outside of King’s Lynn, Westfield House School is a special educational needs (SEN) school for children aged between 11 and 16. The school is oversubscribed and looks to cater for the specialist needs of its students through quality buildings and facilities, which is why it needed to work with a partner who has vast experience in the SEN sector.
A new two-storey building will provide the school with classrooms, a food technology space, communal spaces, a multi-functional meeting room and staff toilets. The project is predicted to take up to 13 weeks, reaching completion in January 2023.
As the building is more likely to be susceptible to damage, compared to a non-SEN school, the façade will be constructed from traditional brick to reflect the school’s need for robustness. Our team understands the necessity of this material due to its durability. The building will also be constructed using traditional brick ply lined walls.
Luminate Printworks
Our team are working with Luminate Printworks, an education provider in the Leeds area, to support a new education facility for those aged 16+. The space will be over 1,150m2 and will comprise 11 classrooms. It’s due for completion in January 2023, after a build programme of just four months.
This facility offers necessary spaces for young adults who are about to embark on the next step in their education in a high-quality learning environment. With oversubscribed sixth form colleges in Leeds withdrawing places days before the start of term last year, this facility is a breakthrough for local students and teachers.
As the original Printworks is a listed building, our team collaborated closely with the school and the local heritage teams to ensure the new build wouldn’t affect its listed status.
Achieving high-quality spaces through expertise and a can-do culture
“All three of these projects are so unique and exciting to be a part of,” says David Harris, Managing Director, Premier Modular.
“The mix of our expertise in the sector and our can-do culture is key to achieving these high-quality spaces at such pace.
“Luminate Printworks in particular is a very special project to all of us at Premier Modular. As we’re based in Yorkshire, being a part of this this much-needed college from concept to installation in Leeds is a real privilege, and we can’t wait to see the finished facility in January,” adds David.
For more information, or support with your permanent education project, get in touch.