The project
Sherborne Preparatory School wanted the provision of further classrooms and science laboratories. The school had already extended on the site, with the new design required to mirror this previous development on the opposite end of the school’s main house. The new building would provide an impressive entrance to the school, at the head of the main drive.
The challenges
Building at the main school entrance of an operational school always provides a challenge, especially with the arrival and departure of day pupils in a town-centre location. An additional challenge was sourcing quality stone from the local Ham Stone quarry – required to achieve an exceptionally high finish, while maintaining a completion date for the new autumn term.
The solution
Out-of-sequence working and the introduction of additional steelwork allowed the project to proceed on time. The roof structure and internal block work were in place, allowing the internal fit-out to remain on target, while delivery times of quality stone were rescheduled and laid outside of the critical path.
The result
The new laboratories, classrooms and library were ready at the beginning of the school year, perfectly timed for the return of the excited children and teaching staff. The builders were off site completely, giving parents ease of access, when dropping and picking up their children.
