Concrete makes the grade for City Academies

Expansion of government's city academies programme beyond the target of 400 has been welcomed by the concrete sector.

The declaration by the Schools Minister, Lord Adonis, that there should be a huge expansion of the government's city academies programme beyond the target of 400 has been welcomed by the concrete sector.

There are currently 83 academies with 51 more due to open this year and a further 80 in 2009.

Spurred on by good examination results and parent demand, Lord Adonis believes that the target of 400 should be re-examined and expanded with the opening of 100 academies a year after 2011 when the original target will have been met.

"Any expansion of the city academies programme would be welcomed by the concrete sector, said Andrew Minson, head of structural engineering at The Concrete Centre, "Particularly as concrete construction is so well suited to delivering the required teaching and learning environment".

He continued: "The choice of building materials significantly affects the success of the teaching and learning environment.

Noise is often a problem.

However, concrete provides a high level of sound insulation minimising the need (and cost) of additional finishes.

Educational buildings also need to be robust and require minimal maintenance.

Then there is the fact that there are some 2,000 fires in schools every year which underlines the benefits of the built-in fire resistance of concrete".

Concrete construction also provides thermal mass.

The combination of solar shading and ultilisation of concrete's thermal mass and night-time cooling was the main strategy used by the DfES Exemplar School Design Team to avoid summertime overheating and reduce air conditioning bills.

Minson highlights the John Madjeski Academy in Reading where the use of concrete's thermal mass is a key feature of the design.

The use of a concrete structure and exposed flat soffits for thermal efficiency and the provision of a natural ventilation stack system to cool the building during the summer minimises the carbon emissions of the building by negating the need for air conditioning and mechanical ventilation which in turn reduces its capital and running costs.

The flat soffits also enabled simpler service routing and made acoustic sealing at heads of partition walls easier and more effective.

Concrete also plays a central role in the design and construction of the Westminster City Academy which has been shortlisted for the UK's most prestigious architectural award, the RIBA Stirling Prize.

Purposely left exposed, the concrete provides a robust finish that is fully able to withstand the rigours of school use.

"The city academy programme is an educational success storey," said Minson.

"And one which the concrete industry is proud to be associated with".

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