A modern solution at Offley Endowed Primary School
An old Portacabin at Offley Endowed Primary School wasn't meeting the needs of teachers and students. Vertis built a modern solution in the summer holidays to give Offley an advanced, fresh, flexible space in time for the new term. Head teacher Mr Edwards tells us how it came together.
Watch the building journey
You can watch the interview with Mr Edwards, plus a timelapse of the site coming together, below.
A portacabin problem
“We had a very old portacabin that was probably 50 to 55 years old.
“So we used to come back after holidays and we had mushrooms growing inside due to the mould. It needed more and more money being spent on it and it was damp and dreary and not very conducive for the children's learning.
A new classroom in 8 weeks
“I had to go out and get three quotes for the tender and I'd met with Craig before, liked him. They came in with a very competitive price and also they promised us that they would have the building ready for the children when they came back in September. So we decided to go with Vertis.
“We cordoned off an area at the top of the playground over there. Two guys came on site every day 8am to 8pm, lovely chaps, very professional. The children were engaged in the project. So they saw them building it from the ground upwards. They saw the building come down, the old building. They saw the foundations go in. So it's quite exciting for children to see the project develop and then they went away for the summer holiday and six weeks later they came back and ta-da it was up and ready. We love the building, the children love their class.
“It's great that we can temperature control it. If it's too hot we can put the AC on and likewise we can put the heating on in the winter. We decided to build an intervention room that was very little money extra and a disabled toilet and shower room which we hadn’t got previously in the school. So it ticked all the boxes: the children love it , the teacher loves it and the learning is fantastic inside."
"It ticked all the boxes: the children love it, the teacher loves it and the learning is fantastic inside. Vertis were really professional, very competitively priced, did a fantastic job and more importantly they did it in the time scale."
Mr Edwards, Headteacher at Offley Endowed Primary School
Working with Vertis
“I’m really pleased with Vertis, really easy to deal with. Craig was on site a lot. If I had any problems I could just call him. They completed it in eight weeks, which was amazing and we really love the final design and building. They were really professional, very competitively priced, did a fantastic job and more importantly they did it in the time scale. So I would work with them again. Should I have another project and I have recommended them to the diocese for other voluntary-aided schools who use the funding through the diocese.”
What could you build?
What does your school need? Are decrepit buildings holding you back? Would you like some help?
We’re currently offering a free consultation to anyone who wants help thinking about a current or future building project – no strings attached. Maybe you don’t know what you need, and you’d like some help generating ideas. We love meeting with schools to dream about making education better. Just get in touch here if you’re interested in a free consultation. If you do, we'll be in touch and we can find a time that works for you.