Barrow Hall Primary School
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Summary
For current and future generations
The new £6.14m one-storey, steel frame Barrow Hall Primary School highlights a move from outdated to contemporary facilities. Built by Robertson North West for Warrington Borough Council, the new school building accommodates 630 pupils and staff.
Robertson North West was tasked with creating a state of the art, bespoke school to replace the old building that was out of date.
A school for current and future generations
As time passes, it's only natural that things eventually need replaced. Robertson North West was brought on board to create the new, tailor-made Barrow Hall Primary School building by Warrington Borough Council. Planned to accommodate an expectant surge of children from the new adjoining housing development, Barrow Hall Primary School is capable of holding up to 630 pupils. Created in just 11 months, specifically with pupils in mind and with special emphasis on maximising the learning environment to reflect the school ethos, the new build has a three-form entry school ranking. Owing to the unrestricted access the new Barrow Hall Primary School site offers, pupils benefit from a range of additional features including two sports fields, open planned gardens, activity areas and a pond.
"We love the building, it's a fantastic design. We now have the school we asked for and not one off the shelf."
Saving money on key materials
With material costs and quality both integral to any project, Robertson North West was able to save in the region of £160,000 on adhesive fixings (Sika) for the building. With water bowsers and septic tanks also having to be installed to make the site operational, this again demonstrates Robertson's ability to work under even the most difficult of circumstances.
Maintaining constant communication with stakeholders
Engaging early with parents, teachers and governors was key for Robertson North West as this allowed us to keep them in the loop. We're fully committed to going the 'extra mile', which is why we implemented several measures throughout the project, including:
- Creating a viewing platform for students and teachers to view progress of the new school
- Holding careers seminars to discuss the roles of Robertson staff on site
- Providing site visits throughout the project for all current 385 pupils
To best prepare for the handover of the new school, Robertson North West undertook several user workshops among stakeholders. This included:
- Building Management Systems training for the caretaker of the school
- Staff tours and 'user days' for teaching staff to familiarise themselves with the new school surroundings
- All 300 current pupils being invited to an on-site classroom
- Detailed staged process for moving from old building into new building
Teamwork proves successful
Owing to the collaborative efforts between Robertson North West, Royal Mail and Morgan Civil Engineering, the project was delivered on time and unobstructed. Morgan Civil Engineering was brought on board by Robertson to carry out civil, drainage and groundworks packages, allowing for a positive effect on the delivery programme in place. Working closely with the Royal Mail distribution centre, Robertson was also able to identify a timetable of deliveries during the pre-construction phase that ensured no time delays for both the project and Royal Mail. Both aspects of the project contributed to the overall success and are a continued testament to Robertson working together with external companies.
Children become reporters
This just in; 'Robertson North West introduces new school journalism unit ahead of Barrow Hall Primary School opening.' A group of eight children from the school were invited to the site in person and via Skype in order to see how the building work was progressing. They then went on to create a newsletter that was given to parents, while the Robertson team also created an on-site office for pupils when they were on 'Robertson Reporter' business. Having pupils on-site as 'Robertson Reporters' offered a number of mutual benefits, including:
- Continued communication and engagement with school and stakeholders
- Giving pupils opportunities to enhance life skills
- Improved sense of ownership/belonging to new school facility for pupils
The project was delivered on time and provides a modern educational establishment that puts children first to maximise learning opportunities.
