Sevenoaks Primary School - Full M&E Works

Sevenoaks Primary School specialises in the education of infant and junior children aged between five and eleven, and has achieved consistently positive Ofsted ratings over the last fifteen years.

Originally constructed in the early 1950s, the school was looking to undertake a rebuilding project that saw its 50-year-old building replaced with a sustainable and up-to-date version in line with the school’s own forward-thinking reputation.

J Tomlinson were appointed by main contractor, Bowmer & Kirkland, to undertake full M&E works within the newly-constructed building, as well as some existing classrooms that were not being re-built as part of the project. The client required the project to be completed in time for the new school year in September 2017.

Prior to undertaking works on site, J Tomlinson liaised with the client to design an M&E solution that was not only cost-efficient, but would also deliver sustainable, energy-efficient solutions to the school. Regular review and development meetings were held between J Tomlinson, the contractor and the client on a fortnightly basis.

Works were undertaken during term-time, with the safety of all students, staff and visitors paramount to the J Tomlinson team. Noise and dust-minimisation techniques were also implemented to ensure minimal disruption to the learning environment.

Some of the many installations J Tomlinson carried out included air con, ventilation, heating, lighting, domestic services, audio, visual, and fire alarm systems.

External lighting was installed on the school grounds and near the entrance and exit points. Accompanying timers were built-in save energy and to help protect pupils, visitors, staff, as well as community groups who would use the building outside of school hours. Lighting controls throughout the school, including stage lighting in the auditorium, were installed with environmental sustainability in mind.

In each classroom the company installed temperature controlled ventilation with local CO2 monitoring; the chosen system was equipped with a night purging feature, which cools the building at night to avoid introducing any air conditioning.

J Tomlinson’s solutions were delivered on time and in budget, and the project was completed to a high standard, gaining excellent feedback from the client, pupils and the wider community.

LIVE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT – As school operations were still running within the parts of the school that were not being rebuilt, J Tomlinson employed meticulous safeguarding measures and noise/dust minimisation techniques to protect pupils, staff and visitors.

ON TIME AND BUDGET DELIVERY - J Tomlinson’s solutions were delivered within budget and in time for the new school year and new starters in September 2017.

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS – Energy efficiency measures saw the building co2 emission rate fall well below the target emission rate, gaining a Building Regulation UK Part L (BRUKL) Pass.

BSRIA CRITERIA MET – Designed by J Tomlinson, the project met BSRIA design standards, including electricity, water and pressure regulations.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING – Rebuilt as part of the ‘Priority Schools Building Program’, the project was majority funded by the Education Funding Agency (EFA), with the support of Kent City Council, the local community and a charitable trust.