Mace meets key school milestone early and under budget

Appointed by the Department of Schools, Children and Families under the popular schools initiative, Mace Group has been contracted to deliver the multi-disciplinary project from RIBA stage B through to RIBA stage L, including programme and project management, cost management, full design services, CDM consultancy and BREEAM assessment.

Mace started work on the £7m project in June 2006 and phase one was completed by 1st September 2008 in time for the new academic year. Won through a competitive tender, this project has provided Mace with the opportunity to champion the Mace vision and values within the London Borough of Brent ahead of any allocations through the Brent project management framework.

Mace capitalised on the collaborative working principles at the heart of the Improvement and Excellence South East (formerly SECE) framework and alongside framework contractor Morgan Ashurst was able to make significant savings to both programme and budget through quality management and value engineering. This resulted in ten classrooms handed over in phase one rather than the scheduled seven and phase two is expected to be completed two months ahead of programme.

The brief for this scheme incorporated future proofing to allow for future developments to match emerging learning strategies and the re-development of the site. The scope comprised the following:

Provision of a new teaching block with 14 classrooms
Provision of a new four-court sports hall
Alteration and refurbishment work to provide three science classrooms and preparation room, a media and IT suite and dining room extension
New electricity sub-station to upgrade the existing supply and provide the additional power required for the proposed new development.

Mace has also guaranteed that the new building works would achieve a BREEAM 'very good' rating and championed the construction and future management of an ecological attenuation pond which the school will develop into a learning resource to compliment pupils' studies. In addition, a waste management and recycling strategy was initiated with the London Borough of Brent and facilitated the provision of cycle bays. In response to the borough's extended use agenda, Mace has also ensured that the new sports facilities are available to the local community.

Steve Rigby, Deputy Head of Preston Manor High School said: "We are particularly pleased with how professionally the project has been run by both Mace and Morgan Ashurst and how ongoing value engineering has been managed throughout the project without reducing the quality of the product, which was my initial fear. It is this professionalism that we are happy to recommend to other prospective clients."

More about the Preston Manor school at their official site.

To find out more about Mace Group's considerable experience delivering schools, academies and university buildings, visit our website.