Product category:
Construction companies
News Release from: Beard | Subject: Building project as an educational resource
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 10 April 2006
Beard invite pupils to learn from
building project
Design consultants Mouchel Parkman and building contractors Beard have invited a school to use the building project as an educational resource.
The design and construction teams building a £1m extension at Marlborough Church of England School in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, are hoping the project will inspire the school's pupils to choose a career in the construction industry Design consultants Mouchel Parkman and building contractors Beard will be inviting the pupils to air their ideas for their secondary school's new assembly hall and classrooms, due to be completed in December this year
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 27 Jun 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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"We have invited the school to use the building project as an educational resource," said Mouchel Parkman's Project Manager Tony Peck, who is managing the project for Oxfordshire County Council.
"We hope that pupils will take part in meetings with us to discuss the project's activities and progress.
We will help them to work in parallel on a construction simulation that is based on the actual project so that they can explore and understand the cost implications of various design options.
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These could range from decor finishes to the process that decides how to place doorways so that they provide the best travel routes and adhere to building regulations." As well as an assembly hall and classrooms, the new single-story building will also provide a seminar room, office and toilets.
Outside school hours it will be available for hire as meeting facilities for the local community.
The building will be constructed on traditional strip foundations, with facing brickwork, cavity external walls and a pitched roof with slate roof tiles.
Adrian O'Shaughnessy, Beard's Project Manager leading the construction team, said: "Beard is working closely with Mouchel Parkman to ensure that the building work is carried out efficiently and cost-effectively, so that Marlborough School gets the best possible value out of its new building.
We're also taking great care to manage the construction traffic visiting the site so that the school suffers as little noise and inconvenience as possible.
"We think this project offers an ideal opportunity to give young people an insight into the challenges designers and builders face on site.
Hopefully, some Marlborough School pupils will find this project so interesting that they will consider pursuing a career in the construction industry".
Mrs Julie Fenn, Headteacher of The Marlborough Church of England School, said: "This is an exciting project for us because it is the first truly multi-purpose building project that the school has been involved in.
The new hall and classrooms are part of improvements that are being funded through our specialist school funding and money allocated to us through the county council in recognition of the need to expand our site to reflect the increase in numbers of pupils attending our school in recent years.
"The new hall and classrooms will create a business centre with the potential to be used by the school and community as a conference and events venue, theatre and cinema.
We are investing in sprung flooring to make it suitable for all types of dance activities, and also in moveable staging and projection and sound systems to create a real community asset.
"We have worked closely with both Mouchel Parkman and Beard to develop a design and construction that really reflects our vision for a facility for our school and community that will be an asset for many years to come.
The whole school community is looking forward not only to the final outcome, but also to the wealth of learning opportunities created by the presence of a range of people with skills and experience in all aspects of design and construction on our site on a daily basis".
Mouchel Parkman has just celebrated completing the first year of a seven-year contract with Oxfordshire County Council (OCC).
The property services team at Mouchel Parkman's Abingdon office is responsible for delivering a comprehensive range of property services to OCC's £1bn property portfolio, which includes some 331 schools, 146 houses, 64 offices, 48 care facilities, 43 libraries, 42 agricultural properties, 33 community education/ arts centres, 29 youth centres, 25 sports centres, 24 fire stations, eight museums/archives and six gypsy sites.
Mouchel Parkman is widely experienced in all aspects of construction design, and also offers property services directly to OCC schools to cover their delegated maintenance responsibilities.
Mouchel Parkman's Abingdon team has grown to over 100 people in the last year and is still recruiting.
The team will hold a careers open day for architects, engineers and surveyors at all stages of their careers on Tuesday 16 May 2006.
Listen out for details on Fox FM.
The Marlborough School project is Beard's second project within a four-year framework agreement with Oxfordshire County Council to undertake school building contracts worth a total of £12m.
The first project - a £0.9m two-storey, six-classroom extension at Carterton Community College - will be completed in October.
Beard (www.beard-construction.co.uk) operates throughout central southern England and undertakes construction projects worth up to £6m.
Established in 1892, Beard has offices in Swindon and Oxford and employs 160 people.
The company is engaged in the Construction Best Practice Programme and achieved a turnover of £33m in 2005 (up from £22m in 2004).
Beard is an Investor in People and a Chartered Institute of Building training partner, and won the 2006 Wiltshire Business Training and Development Award.
Beard's Managing Director, Mark Beard, was Oxfordshire Businessman of the Year in 2004.
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