The project
Sandroyd Preparatory School needed to improve its existing pre-school facility, to help to attract potential new students. The head teacher felt that there was opportunity for a new facility. The school also had an ideal environment already, using the current walled garden, providing a beautiful and secure location for children aged three to seven.
The challenges
The main house to the school is a grade II listed building, with the garden wall falling into the curtilage, so this had to remain and become the central wall of the new pre-prep school. This provided a real challenge for the build, as this innovative design meant running two sites – one each side of the wall.
The solution
The initial plan and scheduling identified early on that this would run as two projects simultaneously, with subcontractors’ work schedules offsetting their tasks. This early recognition meant that programming and cost adjustments had been accounted for at the very start.
The results
The building provides a wonderful environment for young children to take their first steps at school. It will remain a prized asset in the school for many years, with its contemporary zinc roof blending with the 18th-century wall.
