St Philip Howard School, Barnham

We were appointed to Design and Build a brand-new, energy-efficient teaching block for BOSCO an Academy. The single storey building consists of eight modern classrooms, two of which can be joined to form a large learning resource centre, toilets, office, meeting room and kitchen to help it meet growing demand.

The building features low-energy air circulation and under-floor heating provided by air source heat pumps.

Solar panels have also been installed to generate electricity which feeds any surplus back into the national grid and generates income for the school.

Throughout the build we maintained a secure and enclosed site, with all workers DBS-checked and logistics carefully planned to avoid student movement times. Regular coordination with the school’s leadership ensured smooth progress.

Foul waste pipes found close to the building were diverted. We introduced a 7,000-litre foul water pumping chamber buried alongside the building to capture the wastewater and dispose of it.

Arun and District Council Planning had expressed concerns about the high volume of rainwater due to be captured and discharged into an already stressed system. Our design team combatted this by installing a 70,000-litre underground attenuation storage tank where the rainwater from the new block could be held and released slowly into drains and culverts.

We also discovered the school’s existing power infrastructure was outdated and we replaced a main distribution board during the half-term break to avoid disruption.

This future proofed the school for further expansion.

“The school’s management team are pleased with the new building which caters perfectly to their teaching needs and enables them to meet demand for the outstanding education they provide.”