Following a devastating fire which destroyed half of their school’s buildings, pupils at Carleton Community High School in Pontefract, West Yorkshire studying in a new interim school supplied by Portakabin, achieved record GCSE exam results.
In one of the most challenging projects ever undertaken by Portakabin, 23 separate school buildings comprising 114 Ultima building modules were sourced, fully fitted out, installed and occupied by the school in just six weeks from receipt of order, despite freezing working conditions and whilst meeting the school’s stringent design and logistics requirements.
The school is a specialist science and mathematics college. Its 971 pupils were immediately displaced following the fire, so it was critical that the new interim school was up and running as fast as possible.
Portakabin was able to provide a rapid response and complete solution to minimise disruption to the children’s education. This included foundations, building installation, fitting out to the school’s exact requirements, fire and intruder alarms, and access ramps and steps. The buildings, which span more than 4,000sqm, are being hired for three years while the damaged parts of the school are re-built.
Facilities in the interim school include reception, 25 classrooms, management suite with 11 offices, behaviour block, dining room for 700 covers, library, staff room for 80 teachers, dance studio with a full mirror on one elevation, drama studio with blackout windows, changing rooms and showers, key stage manager’s block with five offices, and 17 toilet blocks.
Rob Foreman, Head Teacher at Carleton Community High School, said, “It was imperative that the buildings arrived in the shortest possible time to ensure continuity of education provision and minimal disruption to the school. This meant that a commitment to deliver in time for the new school term was absolutely essential.”
He added, “The service from Portakabin was fantastic, with the handover of all buildings completed on schedule, as required. The specification of the buildings has surpassed all expectations, and is a first-rate solution for schools in a similar predicament.”
David Taylor, Senior Building Surveyor at property consultants NPS Group said, “The new interim accommodation is clean, fresh and bright. We needed a vast quantity of buildings at no notice, so had to select a national company with the resources and reputation to deliver on time and to our exacting quality standards. Portakabin did an excellent job.”
As this project illustrates, delivery of school buildings on time is critical to minimising disruption to children’s education, but is even more important in emergency situations such as fire and floods. To provide assurance that Portakabin will deliver every education building on time and on budget, the company has just launched a ground-breaking Customer Charter.
The Charter gives a series of clear commitments which is unprecedented in the construction industry, and if delivery on time and on budget is not achieved, a week’s free hire will be provided for every day a project is delayed*. It also includes commitments to:
- Meeting the most challenging timescales – Portakabin delivers 80 per cent of its buildings for hire within 14 days and some within just 24 hours
- Delivering every building safely – the accident incident rate for Portakabin is 33 per cent less than the average for the construction industry
- Providing a fast, responsive and local service – with the largest network of hire centres in the UK, spanning more than 50 locations
- Providing cost certainty – accurate project quotations with no hidden cost variations
- Visiting every school, college or local authority within 24 hours of initial contact
- Providing a 24-hour service, 7 days a week.
For further information about education buildings for hire and the new Customer Charter, visit www.portanews.co.uk, email information@portakabin.co.uk or call 0845 401 0010.
