Clacton County, Colbayns and Bishop’s Park
Three schools. Three challenges. One solution
At the best of times building a new school is always difficult – demanding careful attention to the needs and sensitivities of local residents, planning requirements and the prevailing governmental academic framework – and that’s before addressing the core task of delivering a high quality educational establishment. So the task of refurbishing two working schools and building a brand new one in a socially and economically challenged area was always going to require an innovative and flexible solution, delivered by a team capable of understanding and dealing with the various issues.
The project in question involved the alteration and refurbishment of both Clacton County High and Colbayns High School and the construction of a brand new, 900-place facility to be named Bishop’s Park College. NewSchools was charged with management of the project under a single PFI contract funded by both the DfES and the ODPM.
Gordon Powell, Senior Development Manager at Essex County Council, outlined the main objectives of the scheme, “Obviously we wanted to ensure that educational provision in the area was of a standard suitable for the 21st century. This required us to significantly upgrade the resources at County and Colbayns whilst at the same time adding additional capacity with Bishop’s Park College to ensure that the area was well placed to cope with the growing population. We also had to take into account the need to serve the local community by opening up a number of services to other residents, thus extending the social and academic reach of the schools beyond their normal daytime population.”
A core part of this was remodeling the schools as Joint Service Centres. This involved providing additional facilities such as cyber cafés, nurseries and sporting facilities that could be used by residents outside school hours, making the schools a more integral part of the community. This not only makes greater use of the investment but also serves to foster links between all three schools and a broader cross-section of the population.
The Bishop’s Park site posed a further challenge in that it was necessary to create a temporary school that would accept pupils even during the construction phase. Not only did this present practical and logistical problems, but also real health and safety issues that needed to be resolved.
Gordon Powell was impressed with the manner in which this was overcome, “Opening Bishop’s Park before the new school was built clearly created an unusual and difficult situation that could have created significant difficulties. In reality the dual-function of the site probably could not have been handled better. The result was a temporary school in one area that allowed us to accept pupils and continue the academic programme literally within view of the ongoing construction project.”
The innovative design of Bishop’s Park took into account the need to create a friendly environment conducive to the provision of positive educational results. This was achieved using a layout based around three distinct wings that divided the pupils into three groups of approximately 300. This ‘school within a school’ concept avoided the previous tendency to place large numbers of students in a single centre, which can lead to an impersonal atmosphere that sometimes intimidates less confident pupils, instead allowing the staff to establish a more manageable, family-based feeling throughout each section of the school.
The inclusion of a vocational centre encompassing disciplines such as automotive engineering, bricklaying and beauty therapy added another level to Bishop’s Park that would deliver practical skills that would transfer easily to the workplace – again addressing the demands of modern education by allowing pupils to find the academic balance most suited to them.
Head Teacher at Bishop’s Park, Mike Davies, explained, “It is inevitable that involvement in building a new school causes ripples of excitement but it must be rare for that excitement to last throughout the project and for the final product to exceed expectations. That was, however, the reality of our experience of working with QED/Wates, Essex County Council and ACP [Architects Co-Partnership] in the design and build of Bishops Park.”
“The result is a land mark building that is sensitive to its coastal location, not obviously a school but a community resource with a number of artworks, some sponsored by the contractor, which gives a broad welcome to the nursery, the day centre, the public library as well as the school and its sports facilities. Internally the college is organised around a well lit atrium which acts as our performance arena, assembly space, dining area and social centre. The three schools lead from this space into their own double volume atria. It is in these spaces that each student has their own locker, each with a point to recharge a laptop, and where learners can meet in groups or teams of up to ninety. Each school has its own staff team base, staff work area, student reception and suites of team rooms. The more specialist rooms such as food technology or music are shared between the three schools and are clustered around the main atrium.”
The other part of the contract involving the refurbishment of Clacton County High and Colbayns High Schools presented a very different set of problems that required detailed planning to overcome. Not least was that both establishments needed to remain operational during the work. At County High this meant extensive rebuilding at the centre of the existing site, with all the problems associated with access, noise and safety.
Speaking about Clacton County High, Head John Clay said, "The design team accepted our brief to improve circulation around the school and to create more social and recreational areas for our students. The outcome exceeded all our hopes and expectations. Wide and airy link corridors have been built but the highlight is the new restaurant. This has created a 'wow factor' amongst staff, students and visitors. It is now the focal point of the school and the original digital artwork has been enhanced by live television and in-school radio. The design and the whole project were taken through focus groups involving students, parents and staff and on their behalf I can only express our delight with the outcome. I used to be cynical regarding any effect the environment had on the quality of teaching and learning. I am converted. The effect of this project on the morale of my staff and students has been significant."
After consultation with staff, work was planned, if possible, to ensure that the most intrusive activities happened at times when they would have the least impact. The result was the successful, safe completion of the project that caused the minimum disruption to the schools. Key parts of the work involved the infill of a central courtyard and a new dining area as well as the general upgrade of a number of areas throughout each school.
The three schools involved in the project each presented different challenges that required close attention to the social, academic and construction objectives in order to meet the needs of the area throughout the entire lifetime of the contract. Working closely with the local authority, contractors and teachers was a key part of NewSchools’ partnership approach. The fact that many of NewSchools staff have experience at all levels within the academic sector gives them a greater understanding of the issues involved and enables them to look at each project from a knowledgeable viewpoint.
The impact at Colbayns has been dramatic. Deputy Head Teacher Steve Ling explained, “The buildings now provide a most stimulating environment for staff and students to work in. The new Art/Photography Faculty, designed in consultation with the staff, provides a wonderful suite of rooms for work and these facilities have played a significant role in enabling the school to achieve Specialist Status as a Media Arts College.”
“Record numbers now attend the school post 16 and the refurbishment of facilities for the Sixth Form has been a significant factor, along with the new Learning Resource Centre and IT suite. The community benefits of the Nursery and Joint Service Centre have been immense. Both facilities are “full”. The JSC now works with over 300 families in what is a very deprived community. It is being held up as an example of best practice.”
“The joint vision of QED, architects and the school has now placed Colbayns in a strong position to offer facilities that equal the best in the area and some better. The staff and students really enjoy this new working environment. There is greater pride in the building and their self esteem has received an enormous boost, attending the school and working here. The project has raised the profile of our school. ‘Working together for success’ is the school strap line and the partnerships in the PFI have certainly done that. We look forward to even greater success for our students in the future.”
The work has not gone unnoticed, with Bishop’s park receiving an award from RIBA for its architectural merit and County High being cited in the DfES’ Transforming Schools programme as a model example of good practice. The conclusion is that a blend of experience and partnership, combined with a flexible approach, resulted in three outstanding schools that now form an integrated part of the local authority’s long-term academic strategy for the 21st century.