The eight-month contract at Poppleton Road School included an extension to house a new Poppleton Road entrance and reception, a lift for disabled access and a modern kitchen – just in time for cooking the pupils their Christmas lunch!
Acting head teacher, Mr Gareth Trenchard-Morgan, said: “Everyone is very excited about the new facilities. They have made an immediate difference to the daily life of everyone at the school and the team at William Birch has done a great job of sympathetically transforming our lovely old building. Our staff really enjoyed working with the Birch staff who were kind, helpful and friendly, going out of their way to be flexible and considerate. In fact, it seems really strange not having them around any more!”
As a listed building, certain aspects of the work at Poppleton Road School required careful handling, and Birch had to do their homework to ensure that the bricks and materials used in the extension closely matched those used in the original school, right down to the colour of the vents. There was also the challenge of making sure that school activities and building work could co-exist during term-time.
Lee Scaife, William Birch contracts manager, said the team had enjoyed the experience. “Working in a school when it is operating is never easy but it’s something we do a lot of, so we are familiar with these situations, which does make a difference. Poppleton Road School has been an interesting project, not least for installing a lift which links four floors, even though the school only has two storeys! This was only possible because of the Victorian four-metre high ceilings, which gave us room to create a split level mezzanine walkway with fully glazed viewing platform in the new extension; this, together with the basement level, provides four access points.”
Work at Poppleton Road School started on 31 March 2008 and was completed on 14 November 2008, on time.
William Birch has a track record of working on schools, including several in and around the York area, such as St Peter’s and The Mount.
