Yorkon News Archives

15/08/2003 – Construction now underway for first complete school to be built off-site

Modular building specialist and Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, has been awarded the £5m design and build contract for what is believed to be the UK's first complete school to be built off-site.

The contract at Our Lady of Lourdes School in East Kilbride for South Lanarkshire Council includes the construction of a 16-classroom building alongside the existing school, which will then be demolished and replaced with landscaping and an all-weather floodlit sports pitch. Completion of the new 500-pupil school and nursery is scheduled for the end of 2003.

Commenting on this pioneering project, Donald Thomas, Head of Finance for Education Resources at South Lanarkshire Council said, "We have used the system build approach in a number of schools and have been impressed with the quality of construction and finish. Here, the local community will benefit from a complete new school towards the end of the year. It was important to replace the existing 1960s storm-damaged school and we are now set to have a state-of-the-art facility in half the time of traditional site-based construction."

He added, "The project has been designed to meet the needs of teaching staff and pupils, creating a stimulating and attractive educational environment. It will also become a valuable community facility for use during evenings and weekends. The phased development will significantly reduce disruption to the running of the school, which will remain fully operational throughout construction of the new building."

Features of the school will include an impressive glazed entrance, a pre-school nursery, main hall and dining room, extensive landscaping and soft play areas.

Editor's Notes

1. The school will be constructed from 84 steel-framed modules, up to 14m long and weighing up to 8.5 tonnes. These are manufactured off-site at Yorkon's production centre in York, whilst the foundation works are completed on site. The modules are delivered to site by road where they are craned into position in just two weeks.

2. The new school will comprise:

16 classrooms including an IT suite
Library
A multi-purpose hall with stage and specialist lighting, a county-standard
badminton court and facilities for five-a-side football, volleyball, basketball and netball
Parking for around 50 cars
A nursery with a large play area that can be subdivided into two individual playrooms, plus staff room, office, cloakrooms and infants' toilets.

3. The two-storey building will have pitched roofs above the main entrance and the main hall. The exterior will be finished in two shades of blue with co-ordinating blue windows and doors.

4. Yorkon's award-winning modular building system is an efficient alternative to traditional site-based construction, which saves time, guarantees quality and minimises disruption to existing operations.