Thames Park Secondary School

Project:

Thames Park

Client:

Department for Education (DfE)

Contractor:

Bower & Kirkland (B&K)

Architect:

Stride Treglown

Value:

£24m

Location:

Grays, Essex

GIFA:

6950m2

Completion:

September 2022

SOLUTION

Innovaré supporting Bowmer & Kirkland delivered the £24m Thames Park School through the DfE Offsite Framework. The proposed designs and plans for the school were carefully considered, with collaboration between project partners, staff at the school and the Design Review Panel at Thurrock Council. The Innovaré team managed the structural design, manufacture, and installation. Thames Park was constructed utilising a hybrid offsite approach incorporating Innovaré’s i-FAST panelised solution, integrating windows and external brick slips to the ground floor and cladding above. Roof cassettes were by Pasquils and pre-cast concrete floors by Creagh Concrete, with M&E specialist DBS supporting the fit-out solution for the plant room offsite.

OUTCOME

Taking the majority of the build offsite and using scaffold-less installation improved onsite health and safety. The project was 100% safe with zero hours lost to RIDDORS and accidents. Utilising offsite manufacture also allowed for a higher quality finish, with a robust testing and quality checking system to reduce ongoing maintenance. Basing the design on CIBSE, BS – U-Values as low as 0.21w/m2k were achieved, reducing energy requirements for the lifetime of the school.

Insulated wall panels and precast concrete floors also allow enhanced temperature management, reducing heating and cooling costs and associated carbon output.

Innovaré’s input assisted in the delivery of ‘Configure Offsite 3.0’ – a mature standardised yet flexible school solution, designed to exceed the stringent requirements of the DfE’s output specification and also reduce construction duration by 30%. The collaborative approach taken during the project culminated in enhanced Pre-Manufactured Value, reduced onsite construction time and minimised environmental impact. This further improved construction quality and health and safety.

Paul Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer of Osbourne Co-operative Academy Trust, said:

“We have worked very closely with the main contractors Bowmer & Kirkland and the DfE on the design of our new school and we feel the educational principles and digital vision that drive this project have been keenly thought through, so that this development delivers more than just a state-of-the-art school, but also a community facility that serves the local area and enhances the landscape in which it sits.”

Headteacher of Thames Park, Kam Bains, said:

“We are delighted and excited by the opportunity to deliver outstanding learning facilities and a permanent home for the wonderful students at Thames Park Secondary School. Thurrock students deserve the very best education in a happy and high achieving school.” Thames Park Secondary School