Northampton School
Brief
Northampton School is a secondary school for boys and girls aged between 11 and 16. Run by the Northampton School for Boys (NSB) Academy Trust, the Moulton-based school has recently been transformed into one of the most modern learning facilities in the UK.
Algeco UK played a pivotal role in helping deliver the £28 million project, which was secured through the Department of Education’s MMC Framework.
The team was tasked with constructing and assembling hundreds of modules and turning the pioneering vision for the new school into reality. And despite the sheer scale of the project, temporary provision requirements, additional foundation work and some weather-related challenges, our Mod Hire and OSS teams delivered the brief efficiently and to the highest standard.
Solution
Collaborative working was key to delivering this project on time and in accordance with everybody’s requirements. Algeco UK worked closely with the school and wider stakeholders on determining the design of the new school site.
Constructed via a two-phase approach, which involved manufacturing the modules off-site, the school is the biggest educational project the Algeco UK team has delivered to date. A total of 210 modules were created at the company’s factory in Carnaby and transported to the Northampton site.
Taking care of the school’s temporary requirements
Delays in the planning process and the scale of the project meant that the new school building would not be ready in time for the new pupil intake in autumn 2023. In addition to constructing the new buildings, Algeco UK also made sure the adequate interim arrangements were in place.
Temporary classrooms were installed by Algeco UK on the existing sports pitch. The team also took care of all of the construction site welfare and associated services, which involved electricity and drainage.
A total of 30 individual modules, which were arranged as two double-storey buildings, comprising four classrooms and capable of accommodating up to 30 pupils each, were craned into place. Storage rooms and toilets, plus a single-storey building, designed for office space, music practice, changing rooms and a general assembly hall, were also installed.
Keep everybody safe at all times
With work taking place during the school term, ensuring the health and safety of staff, pupils and site workers at all times remained a key priority. This was effectively managed by Algeco UK by segregating the active construction site and the school site.
Work included creating a separate temporary access road, a turning point and parking for plant and site staff vehicles, as well as installing robust perimeter fencing that housed a solar-powered staff office, canteen, toilet and drying room facilities.
Overcoming unexpected challenges
Initial ground investigations uncovered an existing sewer that ran through the foundations. Algeco UK swiftly adapted the original designs and overcame the issue by removing 50 loads of soil and arranging for batches of concrete to be strategically pumped into the ground.
Meanwhile, heavy rainfall in the spring impacted the ground conditions and made it more challenging to carry out the foundation and external works. However, Algeco UK expertly overcame these difficulties to complete this particular phase of work.
Results/outcome
Algeco UK completed the Northampton School project within 18 months from winning the contract to the final pieces of equipment being put into place. As a result, the doors to the new state-of-the-art school opened in September 2024.
More significantly, the overall project was delivered in a fraction of the time - traditional building methods would have taken up to three years to complete such an extensive works programme.
The new school features wall-to-wall cutting-edge facilities, which include dedicated sports, drama, science and music rooms, that have been designed to cater for up to 1,200 pupils.
Phil Pavey, Managing Director at Algeco Offsite Solutions (OSS), said: “This is one of the most exciting projects Algeco UK has worked on – planning and constructing a series of buildings to ensure the students of Northampton have the best possible education has been extremely motivational for all of us.
“It is a prime example of our Mod Hire and OSS divisions successfully coming together to not only deliver temporary decant facilities, but permanent buildings using the latest offsite technology.
“We sincerely hope the new Northampton School is a place where teachers and students will find welcoming and inspirational, as well as being a fantastic focal point within the community.”
