With an ever increasing demand for school places, leading contractor Thomas Sinden is working closely with a number of London Councils and educational establishments to deliver a broad range of projects for all ages and needs.
Thomas Sinden is preparing to officially hand over the former Minchenden School site in Southgate, Enfield to Durants School, a specialist secondary school for autistic children.
Thomas Sinden was appointed as principal contractor by London Borough of Enfield in late 2017 to redevelop the former Minchenden site, converting part of the site into a school for upper end aged secondary autistic children. The school will provide 120 places and expand specialist autism provision in Enfield which is in high demand.
Graeme Sinden, Director for Thomas Sinden comments, “We have a wealth of experience delivering educational establishments, ranging from primary schools through to colleges and student accommodation.
“From the outset at the former Minchenden School, we have worked closely with the staff from the school and the architects to ensure the redesign and refurbishment caters for all the needs of the children and provides a first class learning provision for all pupils.”
The 6,880m2 site was most recently used by Southgate College. Thomas Sinden has carried out work on the two storey Farbey building, workshop and Mews building, which are all within the curtilage of the Grade II listed Southgate House.
The refurbishment and modification of the three buildings, consisting of 3,072m2 internal floor area, will provide modern education facilities including a practice flat, vocational facilities for life skills, creative arts and horticulture, a sixth form common room, therapy rooms and a gym and fitness room. The new school will provide more space and better resources and facilities and will help the school teach the students the skills they will need as adults.
Thomas Sinden is also working on Hillside Infant and Junior School for London Borough of Hillingdon. It has been appointed to design and build a new three storey standalone main teaching block, approximately 2,120m2, which will accommodate 12 new classrooms, hall, kitchen, group spaces, staff and administration space and storage, toilets and cloak areas. The new building will be energy efficient with automated lighting control throughout, passive ventilation strategy and photovoltaic systems providing energy savings.
Thomas Sinden is also carrying out adaptations to existing buildings, including remodelling of the existing entrance, reorientation of the sports pitch and provision of a new two court MUGA. The expansion will mean that the school will increase its intake of pupils from 459 to 675. The works are being phased to ensure the school can remain operational throughout the construction period.
At Barclay Secondary School in Stevenage, Thomas Sinden is delivering a brand new detached single storey sixth form block and state of the art drama studio for Hertfordshire County Council. The works are being delivered as part of the Priority School Building Programme 2 and funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
At Selwyn Primary School, Thomas Sinden has been appointed by London Borough of Newham to design and build a new single storey nursery and reception building to accommodate classrooms, administration offices and external play areas.
Graeme Sinden concludes, “We place emphasis on providing a service that represents value for money and meets the strict timetables of the academic year without compromising on quality.
“Education projects often require that construction works are carried out whilst a site is occupied, meaning careful segregation and coordination is needed to ensure that teaching is not unduly disrupted and that students are kept safe. We pride ourselves on establishing good relationships with the headteacher and their staff as early as possible to minimise disruption to student learning.”