Major Improvement Schemes At Two East Riding Schools

Two East Riding secondary schools are celebrating the completion of major improvement schemes totalling £3.6million.

The improvement works at Longcroft School in Beverley and Hornsea School and Language College have not only made the buildings more pleasant places for staff and students to work, but have also made them more energy efficient, which will cut their energy bills.

The works have been funded from East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s capital maintenance budget, and this week the Leader of the Council, Councillor Stephen Parnaby OBE, went along to inspect the completed works for himself.

The projects have been carried out by contractors Hall Construction Group Ltd, based in Hull.

Councillor Parnaby said:  “I am delighted that these works have been completed, improving the environment for both students and staff.

“The improvements have not only made both schools much nicer places in which to teach and learn, but they have also brought them into the 21^st century by increasing energy efficiency and reducing their carbon footprints.”

At Longcroft Upper School, which was built in the 1950’s, a £2.3million scheme has been carried out to modernise the building, including re-roofing and replacing windows and external doors.

A major part of the scheme was carrying out repairs to the original concrete structure and architectural detailing.

The work, which has also included remodelling the main reception and external paving and access improvements, has boosted the thermal efficiency of the building and reduced carbon emissions.

Ian O’Donnell, headteacher at Longcroft School, said: “I am delighted by the work that has been done on the Upper School site. The new windows, roofing and repairs to the outer fabric of the school have made this 60-year-old building look new.

“The local authority, acting as client, and Halls the contractor have worked very well with the school to minimise the impact of the work on the day-to-day life of the school.

“Huge credit also goes to the staff and students who have just got on with the normal routines. It is amazing how such a relatively small budget, compared to Building Schools for the Future, can make such a remarkable difference.”

At Hornsea School, a £1.3million external refurbishment of the building was completed two months ahead of schedule.

The scheme has involved improvements to the Lower School building, which was built in 1958, including the complete replacement of the existing pitched roof coverings, with new insulation; the replacement of the original single-glazed windows; and the replacement of a dilapidated mobile classroom with a new modular science classroom.

Steve Lawrence, headteacher at Hornsea School, said the recommendations of a review of East Riding school buildings had contributed to the improvement work being carried out, and he wished to acknowledge the time given to the completion of the report by a number of councillors.

“This work was recently completed ahead of schedule and was to our oldest building, known locally as Lower School. We would like to thank Halls for the way that they worked in close partnership with the school to minimise disruption to students, employees and users of our site within the community,” he said.

“We also wish to compliment the professionalism of the contractors who carried out the work in replacing the roofing and windows. It has given us all a lift and enhanced the front elevation of the school.

“Our students and employees were outstanding as they quietly got on with the demands of the day-to-day work in a large secondary school, refusing to allow inevitable disruptions to distract them.

“Work to the roof and windows is helping reduce our carbon footprint and we look forward to the completion of the outstanding works, which will see the old oil-fired boilers replaced by biomass ones.”

Martin Hall, managing director of Hall Construction, said: “The site teams, led by Andy MacPherson and Dean Platts, have delivered two first class projects on time and to budget, for East Riding Council under the YORbuild Framework.

“From the start we formed a close relationship with the schools and the local authority staff, which made working on the sites much easier. Interestingly, we believe Hall Construction built the original school at Longcroft in 1950 and we hope that the work we have carried out recently will serve the school for another 60 years.”