Off-site construction methods enable on time delivery of new £7.5 million primary school in Southgate

Building work is officially complete on the new £7.5 million Ashmole Primary School in Southgate, London.

Delivered by Morgan Sindall Construction, the school is part of the latest phase in a government-backed scheme which will see the creation of 49 new free schools across the country. The school, on Summit Way, provides 2,072 sq ft of teaching space for 420 pupils aged four to 11.

The company was appointed to the scheme under the Southern Construction Framework, a vehicle for public bodies in the region to procure major building works. The framework governs the procurement of a full spectrum of new build and refurbishment schemes in education, health and community. These include libraries, civic office developments, programmes for police and fire authorities, and leisure and sports facilities.

Earlier this year, Hampshire County Council formally started prequalifying firms for its fourth generation SCF framework, which will come into operation on 22 April 2019 and run for four years.

The framework will be available for all types of construction work, construct only or design and construction and will include pre and post contract construction services for the management and development of projects.

Off-site construction was central to the delivery of the new school building. Through off-site methods, Morgan Sindall Construction’s team was able to reduce the traditional frame build by five weeks. This included using elements such as structural insulated panels and enabled the frame, intermediate floor and roof to be delivered in stages.

The first phase of construction, which included the main school building, was handed over early, allowing the school to open on time for gatherings at the start of the school term.

During construction, Morgan Sindall Construction partnered with sister company BakerHicks, the multidisciplinary design and engineering company, to utilise Microsoft’s Hololens mixed reality headset to perform installation checks.

This meant that the team was able to project their live construction BIM model onto the mechanical, electrical and public health (MEPH) installations on the site. A customised app was also developed, enabling the team to view and interrogate a section of the project’s MEPH.

David Rowsell, Morgan Sindall Construction area director for Northern Home Counties, said: “Ashmole Primary School is a great example of how off-site construction methods can enable real efficiencies. We were able to greatly reduce the duration of traditional frame build by five weeks, improving productivity and enhancing the quality of the final product due to an extended review period.
“This scheme has been delivered under the Southern Construction Framework and we’re delighted to have worked collaboratively with SCF throughout this project to ensure we achieve the best results for the school and wider community.
“The new facility will provide first-class teaching space for staff and pupils to enjoy and we hope everyone at Ashmole Primary School is delighted with their new home.”

The new primary school is based on the same site as Ashmole Academy and will have close links to the existing secondary academy, utilising staff, facilities and preparing pupils for the next step in secondary education.

Headteacher, Mr Chris Tofallis, said: “We are all very pleased with our new building since we moved into the new facilities in September 2018. The building allows us to fulfil our vision to promote the very best standards in education for all out primary school children. The pupils, staff and parents are all very happy that we have our new school.”

Morgan Sindall Construction is currently on site at major schemes across the region. In High Wycombe, the company has recently broken ground at the new £6.8 million Abbey View Primary Academy. The school is being delivered for Buckinghamshire County Council and has the potential to offer 420 primary school places, with an additional 52 pre-school places, and will be constructed in two phases.

• For more information about this news release please contact Steph Bocking at Influential on 0151 239 5000 or email [email protected].