AN AUDACIOUS PLAN, EXECUTED WITH CONFIDENCE
Goodrich have managed the extensive construction works associated with the creation of The Bedford Girls’ School, a new selective independent day school for girls aged 7-18 formed through the merger of Bedford High School for Girls and Dame Alice Harpur School. The School is located on the current Dame Alice Harper School, Cardington Road, Bedford site.
This project was extensive and complex, with the challenges magnified through the limited period available for completing the works through the 7 weeks of the summer holiday.
Goodrich managed this project through to a successful completion by working closely with the School, Archial Architects, Scott White & Hookins, Orpheus Consulting Engineers and SDC Special Projects. As a group, we worked the existing building stock to find additional areas of teaching space and therefore minimising the amount of new build works required. We created a new canteen servery, two new wet labs, three ICT rooms, refurbished staff areas, an entirely new music school with specialist tutorial rooms, re-decoration throughout the existing main school spaces and the construction of a new surface car park (in a conservation area).
The physical demands of designing and completing the construction works was a challenge. With just 7 weeks available, 499 operatives were inducted with a peak labour force of 194 tradesmen on site. In addition to the physical challenge of the build, Goodrich were responsible for ensuring all necessary local authority approvals were in place prior to commencement of the works, including change of use, planning applications, highways approvals for the puffin crossing and car park works, re-routing existing utility supplies and managing the move process between the two schools. Goodrich Projects were appointed as Project Manager, Quantity Surveyor and Move Manager on this innovative project, breaking into the education sector. The works involved a complex mix of refurbishment and new build within the existing school campus, some of which is designated as Grade II Listed. In addition to construction work, Goodrich managed the process of relocating furniture, fittings and equipment into the new school.
Sweating the existing build stock and creating an additional 1,038m2 of teaching space through conversion and small side extensions avoided a large scale and costly new building project.
Paul Riley, Project Manager, said “This project was a real challenge which we built responsibly and economically, generating space through a more efficient and clever use of the schools existing stock”.
