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From a science lab upgraded within two weeks to a new town-centre college campus, we help clients plan, design and deliver education projects that work for the people who learn and teach in them.
We support academy trusts, local authorities, schools, colleges, universities, housebuilders, land promoters and contractors across Schools, Further Education, Higher Education and Student Accommodation. Our work ranges from new primary and secondary schools within growing communities and the refurbishment and extension of existing school estates to college campuses, university buildings and residential buildings for students.
Why Choose Brookbanks for Education
Education projects are publicly scrutinised infrastructure projects with immovable moments: student intakes, exam periods, funding approvals and procurement windows. Access, flood risk, drainage, utilities capacity and ground conditions can all influence cost and programme, and schools, colleges and universities are living environments where construction often has to take place around teaching, exams and safeguarding requirements. Projects move most smoothly when these factors are understood together, early, as one connected picture.
Our specialists carry out early, integrated due diligence that tests access, transport, utilities, flood risk, drainage, ground conditions and environmental considerations in parallel. We present the findings clearly, so that governors, trust boards, councillors and community groups can make confident decisions. That understanding then carries through planning, detailed design, construction and handover, with phasing and programmes shaped around the academic year rather than the other way round.
Key Client Benefits
- Site constraints are identified early, so that budgets and programmes are built on a realistic understanding of the project.
- Phasing, logistics and programmes are shaped around the academic year, exam periods and safeguarding needs.
- One coordinated team covers planning, environmental, engineering, cost and delivery, reducing the number of interfaces to manage.
- Technical information is presented clearly, giving boards, governors and stakeholders the confidence to make decisions.
- Our designers look for efficiencies that protect value without compromising the quality of the learning environment.
How We Support Education Projects
Site Appraisal, Planning and Education Strategy
Good education projects start with a clear understanding of the site. Our planning specialists prepare evidence-based strategies that explain why a site has been chosen, how the design responds to its constraints and how impacts will be managed, giving planning authorities, councillors and residents a joined-up story they can support.
For developers bringing forward new communities, we advise on how education obligations are best met, whether through direct delivery of a new school or a financial contribution under a Section 106 Agreement. We also help structure occupation triggers so that school places are available as families move in and the school is phased alongside the wider infrastructure programme.
Read our insight on direct delivery or Section 106 contributions for education infrastructure.
Access, Drainage, Utilities and Ground Conditions
Safe access, drop-off, parking and internal circulation for pupils, staff and visitors are designed by our highways and transportation experts. Alongside them, our hydrology, utilities and ground specialists establish flood risk, drainage, power and water capacity and ground conditions before key commitments are made.
Targeted investigations focus on what will genuinely influence programme, cost or foundation strategy. At Discovery Academy in Stoke-on-Trent, a new academy on the site of a former secondary school, extensive reclamation works were needed because of the coal mining legacy beneath the site, and our team completed the civil, structural and highway design for the project.
See how we secured technical approval for two new site accesses at Kenilworth School.
Civil and Structural Engineering for Education Buildings
Our civil engineering and structural engineering specialists design new schools and colleges, as well as the refurbishment and extension of existing buildings. We develop efficient, buildable solutions, including on technically demanding sites, and coordinate structure, drainage and external works with the wider design team.
At Bridgend College, we were appointed for civil and structural design from concept on a £50 million, 13,000m² town-centre campus. The eight-storey concrete flat slab building, with a steel-framed clear-spanning theatre, sits over a backfilled quarry and needed specialist piling and void-spanning foundations. Our early involvement achieved a £750,000 saving on the original tender structure at RIBA Stage 3.
Find out more about our work at Bridgend College.
Building Services, Sustainability and Acoustics
Our building services engineering specialists design mechanical, electrical and public health systems for new and existing education buildings, from full services design for new builds and extensions to heating upgrades, lighting, fire alarm systems and building management systems. At Aylesbury Grammar School, our feasibility study, design options and proposed budget supported the school’s funding application for a school-wide upgrade of its heating, hot water and cold water systems.
Our sustainability specialists provide energy strategies, whole life carbon assessments that comply with Department for Education (DfE) requirements, and Building Performance Evaluation. Our acoustics experts advise on room acoustics, sound insulation and speech intelligibility for classrooms, halls and specialist teaching spaces.
Explore our work across the North London Schools Framework.
Cost, Programme and Delivery Around the Academic Year
Cost planning and viability advice from our cost and commercial specialists helps clients test options and protect value. Our project delivery and management specialists build programmes around utilities lead times, exam-safe periods and a logical sequence for enabling works, temporary accommodation and the main build.
At Sherford, we managed the planning, design, delivery and cost management of Sherford Vale Primary School, from initial design through contractor tender to build and fit out, and the school opened to pupils in September 2018. We are now managing the addition of a second wing that will provide places for a further 210 pupils. For smaller projects, speed matters too: we upgraded a science laboratory at Aylesbury High School within two weeks to minimise disruption to the academic calendar.
Read about Sherford School delivery.
Existing Education Buildings and Refurbishment
Much of the UK’s education estate comprises ageing buildings, presenting increasing challenges around structural condition, maintenance and adaptation to modern requirements. Brookbanks’ civil, structural and MEP engineers have extensive experience in investigating existing buildings, identifying and assessing structural or service defects, and developing practical remediation solutions. We also support schools and education providers in assessing the feasibility of refurbishment, alterations and extensions, helping them make informed decisions about their existing facilities. As the need to maintain, modernise and extend the life of existing education buildings continues to grow, this expertise is becoming increasingly important.
Our Experience
Our education experience spans Schools, Further Education, Higher Education and Student Accommodation, for clients including academy trusts, local authorities, schools and colleges, housebuilders and contractors. In schools, we have delivered new primary schools within growing communities, the new Discovery Academy as part of Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Building Schools for the Future programme, a new science block and sports centre at Onslow School, and a series of projects across the four campuses of Berkhamsted School. In further education, our civil and structural engineering design for Bridgend College’s new town-centre campus shows how early involvement can add value on a technically demanding site.
Universities benefit from the same approach, with design and delivery planned around the needs of a live campus, and our building services specialists have worked with university partners on specialist buildings such as the Fitzwilliam Museum and Hull History Centre. For student accommodation, our structural, building services, acoustic and sustainability specialists bring their experience of residential and taller buildings together, so that schemes are efficient to build and comfortable to live in.
Talk to Our Education Specialists
If you are planning a new school, college or campus project, or improving an existing education estate, contact a member of the team directly, or email hello@brookbanks.com and one of our experts will get back to you.
Senior Engineer, Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Group
Daniel Kainth
daniel.kainth@brookbanks.com
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Related work and insights
FAQs
Can you support an education project that is part of a larger housing development?
Yes. We regularly advise developers and land promoters on education provision within new communities, including whether to deliver a school directly or make a financial contribution under a Section 106 Agreement. We also advise on how occupation triggers should be structured and how the school can be phased alongside the wider infrastructure programme.
How do you plan construction around a working school or college?
We shape phasing, logistics and programmes around the academic calendar from the outset. That means identifying exam-safe periods, maintaining safeguarding boundaries and circulation routes, and sequencing enabling works, temporary accommodation and the main build so that disruption to learners and staff is kept to a minimum.
Which technical issues should we look at before committing to a site?
Access and transport, flood risk and drainage, utilities capacity and ground conditions are the issues most likely to influence cost and programme. We assess them together through early due diligence, so that you understand the true potential of a site before significant time and money is invested.
Do you work on smaller education projects?
Yes. Alongside new schools and campuses, we support focused projects such as single-building extensions, science labs, building services upgrades and site access improvements. We can provide individual specialist services or a fully coordinated team.