King Edward VI School, Stratford - Upgrade of gas supply and heating system

King Edward VI School, Stratford is a state-funded Academy Trust selective school for boys with a co-educational Sixth Form. The School, known to have been in existence from 1295 and re-founded by a Charter of King Edward VI, is widely known as Shakespeare’s School, having been attended by William Shakespeare in the 1570s.

J Tomlinson was appointed to replace the existing undersized gas supply and heating system, in the main block of the school, with more efficient condensing boilers and a building management system (BMS) control system, which monitors all of the building’s mechanical and electrical equipment.

With condensing boilers being 99% efficient, the new installation will significantly reduce the academy’s carbon emissions as well as the cost of their gas bills.

The project was completed on budget and on programme, and to a high-quality finish, with J Tomlinson providing maintenance to the new system for a 12-month period.

Live school environment

Minimal disruption to learning environment: With over 750 pupils currently attending the historic school and the majority of works taking place during term-time, J Tomlinson was mindful of the daily presence of pupils, staff, and visitors, and took measures to minimise risk and keep everyone safe.

We worked closely with the school and with principal consultant Baily Garner to create a detailed programme to rearrange classes so works would cause minimal disruption to the schools’ operations, including scheduled examinations.

COVID-19 safe working: J Tomlinson ensured minimal risk of Covid-19 infection spread throughout the project by undertaking regular risk assessments, adhering to government social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines, as well as only using our own dedicated facilities on site.

Redesign of new system to maximise efficiency and safety

Expedited programme: Following close collaboration with the wider project team J Tomlinson altered the specification and design to maximise the heating system’s efficiency, speeding up the installation and eliminating the requirement for on-site hot works. The updated design included using stainless steel pipes rather than mild steel, as well installing a larger gas supply and high-level heaters.

Asbestos management: Upon discovery of asbestos in the plantroom, the flue system was altered to avoid close proximity to the harmful material - which was later removed by a specialist sub-contractor.

EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION – we maintained close communication with the school throughout the project by formally meeting on site on a weekly basis, as well as having constant open communication.

MINIMISING DISRUPTION – the impact of the project was kept to a minimum with J Tomlinson working with the school to organise and rearrange classes in areas where works were due to take place.

LIVE ENVIRONMENT – we used our extensive experience of working on live school environments to ensure all staff and pupils remained safe during our time on site.

APPRENTICESHIPS/WORK EXPERIENCE – in line with J Tomlinson’s commitment to providing valuable, hands-on work experience, two directly- employed pipefitting apprentices were employed on site to assist in completion of the project.

ON TIME AND BUDGET DELIVERY - J Tomlinson supplied the new high quality installation works, within the required timescales and to budget.