Campus completion boosts Kent school facilities
20 October 2009
Children and adults in Dartford now have access to the best of 21st century education facilities following the completion of a complex £21 million building project on the west side of the north Kent town by Kent County Council.
The project, which was part new build and part refurbishment, has made major improvements to an independent nursery, primary school, secondary school for girls and a college of further education for adults. The wider community also benefits from improvements to school sports facilities, which are being made accessible to local clubs.
Now known collectively as the Dartford West Campus, the project was undertaken by family-owned construction company Osborne in two phases.
Phase 2 was awarded in June 2007 and entailed the construction of the new Dartford Technology College and sports hall, along with the refurbishment and conversion of what was formerly the primary school into a new adult education centre. The Rainbow Nursery was also refurbished during this phase and new mobile sectional units were added. Externally, work included the provision of an additional 94-space car park, which is to be shared by the primary school, the adult education centre and the nursery.
A new primary school was provided in Phase 1, completed in June 2007. This phase had seen the construction of a new building with the primary school on ground and first floors and a technology college on the second and third floors. The Dartford Technology College comprises ICT, and art rooms. A 96-space car park was also built during this phase.
All the new buildings on the Dartford West Campus are of steel frame construction with insulated brick and block cavity walls although one elevation of the technology college had a Kalwall glazed and insulated wall system. The block wall sections were finished either with coloured render or cedar timber panels. The roof, which is curved in section, is made from seamless powered-coated metal sheeting, while all windows are double-glazed with powered-coated frames.
The site was “live” throughout the contract period so a safety system that allowed access to school facilities for staff, pupils and the public, was created using solid hoarding and moveable Heras metal fencing panels.
“The complexity and duration of a project such as the Dartford West Campus necessitates that work takes place in term time so careful planning is essential to ensure that the curriculum is uninterrupted and that pupil’s, students’ and staff’s safety is not compromised. Fortunately, our construction team has the experience and expertise to make sure that this happens and we are proud to have been involved with a project that is so crucial to education in Kent,” said Paul Thomas, Sector Director from Osborne.
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