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   


The extensions to the sample schools have been agreed in


tranches of one or more schools. The £28.6 million redevelop- ment and consolidation of Deptford School’s two sites into one school was the first section to reach financial close after the sweeping changes to the BSF school rebuilding programme pushed through by the coalition. Debt funding on this project was provided by Aviva, and


Costain moved on site at Deptford Green in August 2010 after a programme of demolition work that provided a difficult chal- lenge due to the urban nature of the site and the proximity of the surrounding houses. The twin sites at Deptford Green are virtually adjacent and


pupils from the site now being redeveloped were decanted across to the second location into a raft of temporary buildings pro- vided by Modular UK Buildings Systems. Once the pupils move into the new four-storey Deptford


© Learning21


Green School in September 2012, the old school will be demol- ished. Half of this site will then be used for social housing, while the remainder of the plot will be a public open space to compen- sate for the loss of a sports field at the site of the new school. Fisher adds: “Some schools [in Lewisham] have sports pitches,


such as Sedgehill, but that lack of sports pitches and open spaces is a general problem in the borough and inner city schools gen- erally. That’s why there has been a big drive in the borough to maintain the public open space.” Another focus of the scheme has been a need to use robust


materials. There are no plasterboard walls here in Deptford Green or across the entire Lewisham schools’ rebuilding pro- gramme. Hardwearing block walls have been specified instead. “If we used plasterboard or put in something like normal


domestic taps, it would be not withstand school use,” Fisher reflects, adding: “We have an obligation to build something robust.” The schools are also all built using concrete frames, which


provide better acoustics. The exception is at Prendergast Hilly Fields, where a steel frame was specified. Fisher adds: “It’s a really tight site and steel was quicker.” Costain is aiming to achieve a 60 per cent carbon reduction


with combined heat & power (CHP), biomass plant and photo- voltaic panels all used throughout the programme. The aim is to achieve a rating of ‘Very Good’ or ‘Excellent’ for every school under the BREEAM ratings system. “BREEAM takes into account existing sites and with some


© Learning21


Deptford Green School under construction


sites it’s impossible to achieve ‘Excellent’ because of what’s already there,” says Fisher. “With this one [at Deptford], a BREEAM rat- ing of excellent was very difficult to achieve because of the site


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