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Design and Build
Accio Group’s
15,069 square-foot
retail space for
Sainsbury’s shows
the scale on which
temporary
structures can be
built. Structures of
this size can be
used for various
purposes, such as
gymnasiums,
assembly halls and
workshops.
Moderntemporarystructuresarea
solutiontoclassroomcrisis
R
isingbirthratesisonefactorbeingblamedfora
shortageofplacesinEngland’sprimaryschools.
LondonandtheWestMidlandshasbeenhardest
hit,withthegovernmentexpectedtoannouncean
extra£200minfundingtoprovidenewprimary
schoolplaces.
According to the National Union of Teachers,
too many schools were closed when the birth rate
was falling, meaning there is now no capacity
in the system.
Providing suitable classroom facilities can be an
issue for schools in both the public and private
sector, and in an effort to control the crisis, schools
in the worst hit areas have drawn up emergency
plans to provide extra classroom space.
One forward thinking school to take the initiative
was the Milbourne Lodge Junior School in Esher,
Surrey. Facing a shortage of classroom space, the
then head teacher began the search for
comfortable and modern facilities that would meet
the needs of her pupils.
The search was not easy. Access issues at the
school meant trees would need to be removed or a
road closed to allow a crane to lower a structure
into place. Obtaining permission from the local
Council for either of these options was unlikely.
Also haunted by memories of cold and unpleasant
structure solutions, a permanent structure from management, lighting, power distribution,
portable cabins, she initially dismissed temporary
Accio Group can also be delivered with full ancillary refrigeration units and sanitation.
classrooms as unsuitable and a thing of the past.
support and facilities management. Accio Group boasts an impressive client list. They
This all changed during a shopping trip
Stephen Casey, Managing Director at Accio have provided temporary structure solutions for
to a Sainsbury’s supermarket, where she
Group added: “This project presented a unique set large multi-national companies including Emap,
stumbled across an installation by Accio Group,
of challenges, particularly with accessibility and HSBC, Land Rover, Nissan, RBS, Sainsbury’s, Tesco,
one of the UK’s leading suppliers of temporary
safety. My team overcame these challenges and we Thomas Cook, Toyota and UKTV.
structure solutions.
feel the structure speaks for itself, who would not
So impressed with the flexibility and quality of
want to take their classes in there!”
the installation at Sainsbury’s, she contacted Accio
In addition, Accio Group can also supply all the trianglertwww.acciogroup.com
Group and enquired about the possibility of
vital ancillary services required to complete a trianglertinfo@acciogroup.com
supplying her school with a temporary classroom.
project, including air conditioning, CCTV, facilities trianglert08003896884
Accio Group suggested overcoming the access
issues by providing a structure that is fully erected
on-site and set to work on designing a bright,
comfortable and modern space that would
encourage her pupils to learn.
The classroom was used by five and six
year old children for a total of 11 months, and
during this time there was not a single fault with
the structure or ancillary services delivered by Accio
Group. The head teacher was so pleased with the
quality of the structure she wanted to buy and use
it permanently.
This has led Accio Group to develop its portfolio
to include a range of structures suitable for
permanent installation. Similar to its temporary
56
www.education-today.co.uk September 2009
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