Case Study: Creeting St Mary CEVP School

Gold star for new classroom at Suffolk primary school

Sector: Schools, Colleges & Daycare

An increase in the number of pupils and the need for additional classroom accommodation led to a Suffolk school contacting Portable Space to see if they could help.

There were a number of challenges to be faced at Creeting St Mary CEVP School – a tight deadline to be ready for the start of the new term in September, installation whilst lessons were still in progress and restricted access for the delivery of the unit.

All were overcome thanks to the team at Portable Space and Headteacher Christine Friar says the process was ‘smoother’ than she had envisaged and the classroom itself is ‘so much nicer’ than they had imagined.

Before deciding what would work, Portable Space took the School Governors and Head to nearby Westley School so they could see at first hand what had worked for them.

After that planning began in detail to address the question of access. Creeting St Mary is a small village with very narrow roads and getting large lorries to the school would be difficult and not acceptable to local residents.

Following a detailed assessment, Portable Space suggested that one of its Euro Modular building range would be suitable, as it could be delivered on a short wheel-based vehicle in Flat Pack form and offloaded with a forklift truck and erected into final position.

Mrs Friar said: “We are so happy with our new classroom and the way it was handled by Portable Space. The building went up in no time and the team was so flexible and polite, we weren’t even aware they were there! Inevitably there were some additional requests and changes along the way which they were able to accommodate where possible.

“The end result is a light and airy classroom with its own sink and toilet area. Even the aftercare service was good. We found that the ramp leading to the classroom became a little slippery and so the team returned to coat it with a paint finish to make it safer.”

The project for Creeting St Mary CEVP School included Portable Space helping with Planning, Building Regulations and fire approvals, drainage and foundations, mains service supply and connections and installing a fire alarm, air conditioning, ramp and steps.