Secondary schools and academies
Case Study: Staffordshire County Council – Chase Terrace Technology College
1.The challenge
Secondary schools and academies are busy and boisterous places where robustness and durability are as important as functionality and security levels.
With many schools and academies being built using PFI/ PPP funding it is important that whole life costs are taken into account, alongside maintenance regimes. Solutions that cannot easily be removed or broken, that have a proven performance are important value for money considerations.
The development of extended school/academy use means that premises need effective security beyond the normal school day, often with different levels of security where only certain areas are open to the public.
The on-going challenge of protecting school buildings during holiday times when arsonists traditionally attack empty facilities is now becoming a more common element in specifying for educational buildings.
BACK TO TOP ^2.The solution
The main teaching block at Chase Terrace High School was destroyed by an arson attack on 14 August 2002 and completely rebuilt and opened in September 2004.
The rebuilding of the new block gave the Council the opportunity to upgrade the school to Technology College status and provide evening classes for the local community.
The arson attack gave rise to the need for increased security and the provision of evening classes has impacted on requirements for monitoring visitors out of normal school hours.
The layout of the new facility has been designed so that all computer and IT equipment are housed on the first floor, which means that the more vulnerable ground floor classrooms are clear of targeted equipment.
The college is now able to control all the corridor doors which can be held open on electro-magnetic units. This reduces the wear and tear on door closers and the doors themselves, whilst allowing them to be locked when certain areas needed to be closed.
All classrooms are fitted with modular classroom escape locks [now favoured by the county fire officers] with stainless steel door furniture and cost effective functional door closers.
Master keying has been implemented to create departmental pass groups and floor sub masters. There is flexibility built into this system to allow the rest of the college to be added at a later date.
Before this solution was proposed and implemented, the academic staff, caretakers, county architects and contractors were able to provide input into the system and understand its scope for the future.
After two and a half years the new Technology College has regained its status with a high level of successes in students going onto UK universities.
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