York’s Portakabin Group starts work on first project in £28m school program

The York-based Portakabin Group has started work to provide a new building for the 480-place Pyrford Primary School near Woking.

The £5.6m contract is the first scheme in the £28m Surrey and Kent batch of the Government’s Priority School Building Programme. Four other primary school rebuild projects in this batch are in the final design development stages.

The project is one of six schools in the region to be rebuilt by the Portakabin Group under the Government’s Priority School Building Programme (PSBP). Each scheme is being designed to the latest teaching standards and will be delivered using Yorkon off-site construction solutions.

Pupils and teachers attending Pyrford Primary School will benefit from a completely new school, with high levels of natural light and increased access and space for outdoor play and learning. The two-storey facility will have 16 bright, purpose-designed classrooms for two forms of entry and a multi-purpose hall.

Schools Minister Lord Nash said: “Our investment in school buildings across the country is transforming the learning environment for tens of thousands of pupils and their teachers. The start of construction at Pyrford Primary School is a key milestone for the first phase of the Priority School Building Programme which is investing £2.2bn to rebuild or refurbish 260 schools in the worst conditions across the country.

“Ensuring all children have access to the best possible schools and facilities is just one part of our commitment to help young people reach their potential regardless of their background. These buildings will provide modern, fit-for-purpose schools for pupils for many years to come.”

Simon Ambler, director of the Portakabin Group, added: “The opportunity for off-site construction to help the Government improve the standard of school buildings across the UK is huge, as this exciting project in Pyrford will demonstrate.

“Our aim is to deliver outstanding teaching facilities of the very highest design and technical standards – which are affordable, faster to build and that minimise disruption to education during the construction phase. Off-site construction also gives staff, children and parents much greater certainty of completion of each new school on time and on budget.”

The structure for the new Pyrford Primary School is now being manufactured off site in York using the latest modular technology and will be craned into position in just seven days during the school holidays.

The use of off-site construction will halve the programme time for handover ready for the start of the 2016/17 academic year. The original school building will then be demolished.