Totnes St John’s C of E Primary School

Totnes, Devon

Project Details

Client

Devon County Council

Project Manager

NPS Group

Architect

NPS Group

Contractor

Morgan Sindall

Value

£1.6m

Contract Period

59 weeks

Procurement Type

Traditional

Form of Contract

NEC ECC Option A

Size

382 m2

Trainees

10

Project Brief

Works at Totnes St Johns CoE Primary School comprised the demolition of the existing temporary classroom and construction of a large two storey steel frame extension to the existing school. The new extension provided five new classrooms, group rooms, new toilet facilities, extension to existing hall and reshaping of the external footprint. The building was heated with underfloor heating and all classrooms had breathing systems installed, drawing fresh air in to the rooms, creating good working environments for the pupils.

The works all linked in to the existing school and required new openings and access ways formed to enable smooth passage from the existing school to the new extension.

Community Engagement

Career Development

  • Trainees provided with training through the project

Key Challenges

The school remained fully operational throughout the works and with shared site access and segregation requirements required the contractors worked closely with the school throughout to minimise the impact on teaching and learning. Weekly meetings were held with the head teacher to plan works, ensuring they were planned carefully, enabling all users to maintain a high quality of safety throughout the contract.

Works were sequenced so that the high risk demolition and steel lifting activities were undertaken during the school holidays. We had to keep in regular contact with the school and would speak with the headteacher most days. These were highlighted as key objectives in our customer charter. All possible access points to the construction site were secured with solid hoardings / secured gates.

The existing hall was extended to meet the requirements for the number of pupils currently at the school, requiring detailed client co-ordination and relocation of the school front entrance.

Project Takeaways

Our Success

  • Throughout the project we engaged well with the school, coordinating the works around their requirements to ensure that the safety of pupils was the upmost priority. We included the students at various stages of the project, including Ivor Goodsite Site Safety presentations,  buried time capsules and prayers in the wall.

Our Learnings

  • There were several challenges surrounding the structure of the existing school and building which caused significant delay to the project but we worked well with the client team to find a solution that worked for all parties.

Value Added

  • Morgan Sindall’s early engagement allowed us to complete a detailed appraisal of the project’s challenges and budget, offering our expertise and experience in dealing with the various logistical, design and financial constraints of the project.

KPI’s & Statistics

ContractGateway 2 Planning Gateway 3 Contract AgreementVariation
Cost£1,304,215£1,304,2150%
Time45.3 weeks45.3 week0 weeks