The Sutton Academy

Becca Dodd Our Work

The Sutton Academy

The Sutton Academy M&E

M&E works - The Sutton Academy, St Helens

Sector Education
Client Lancaster Maloney
Budget £469,000
Completed September 2019

Site

The Sutton Academy is a secondary school in St Helens with just over 1,200 pupils. The school has seen a rapid expansion in recent years, with growing numbers of students and improved facilities across the site.

Project scope

We were contracted to deliver a full electrical re-wire of the school including power, lighting and emergency lighting systems, data containment/provision enhancements, installation of new suspended ceilings throughout the school, upgrades to the school’s mechanical ventilation systems and decoration in areas affected by the works.

Contract arrangements

As principal M&E contractor on the project, our responsibilities included on-site health and safety, team welfare, programming, quality and close liaison with the client. We have been an approved contractor for Lancaster Maloney for the past 13 years. The contract was awarded based on our competitive pricing.

Project challenges

We were conscious from the start that it would be essential to minimise any disruption to school life during expected term-time working. Plans, therefore, included close liaison with school staff to keep them fully informed about each step so that there was agreement on how best to work around school activities. We created an effective work compound to stop access and ingress by staff and pupils. All our engineers on-site were enhanced DBS checked, which is always the case when working within a live school environment.

Results

We had anticipated that work would need to continue during term time. However, with excellent project and site management, the work was completed two months ahead of schedule, thus avoiding the potential disruption of day-to-day school life. The project also came within the set budget. Feedback from the school and from Lancaster Maloney was overwhelmingly positive.