The Challenge
The Castle School project in Thornbury required a significant expansion to support its growing Sixth Form cohort, requiring a new three‑storey extension for Maths and Science teaching. The project also required a link bridge connecting the new block to the existing secondary school building, ensuring a seamless campus layout.
However, delivering this scheme posed several key challenges largely around disruption to the school; this included:
- Working within a live school environment: Works were undertaken while the school remained open, meaning student safety, staff access, and uninterrupted learning had to be protected at all times.
- Complex ground conditions: Beneath the preserved tarmac areas lay Type 1 build-up and shallow hard rock, meaning foundation and drainage works required drilling operations that risked generating prolonged noise.
- Tight exam‑based restrictions: Noisy or disruptive works could not clash with GCSE and A‑Level exam periods, narrowing the available working windows.
- Sensitive neighbouring receptors: Surrounding residential streets—Park Road, Regents Close, Alexandra Way—and a nearby care home required careful environmental management around noise and dust.
- Busy school‑day traffic movements: With hundreds of daily drop‑offs and pick‑ups, deliveries needed strict control to avoid congestion and maintain site safety
