Work is well underway on site at Little Ilford secondary school in Newham, London where offsite specialist contractor M-AR is currently working on one of its largest education projects to date.

The London Borough of Newham has experienced rapid population growth over the last ten years meaning that demand for secondary school places within Newham is forecasted to increase significantly over the next five years. Little Ilford School therefore needed to be able to accommodate a larger intake of students in the very near future, so a large new block with more facilities has been designed to sit adjacent to the existing school building within its grounds. It is being built using a hybrid offsite approach with M-AR playing a key role in its delivery.

The large new block, which will soon be complete and ready for teachers and students to move into, includes several new classrooms and connecting corridors, a SEND block, an activity studio and a new underground car park area complete with several electric car charging points and PV panels. There was no room to extend the footprint of the site itself meaning that the new block had to take up part of the school’s existing car park, and with parking at a premium in the area, this had to be maintained which meant sinking the carpark underground and building the new school block built directly above.

It’s projects like this that showcase the benefits of offsite for the education sector. As this is an extension project, the school remained open throughout the project so it was vital to keep disruption to a minimum and follow strict safeguarding regulations to keep everyone safe. Taking a proportion of the build offsite and into M-AR’s factory reduced both the time spent on site and the sheer number of tradespeople required on site at any one time too.

Ryan Geldard, director at M-AR said: "This is our largest education project to date and has not been without its challenges due to the constraints of the site and surrounding areas. But by taking a collaborative approach with everyone involved we’ve been able to meet the challenges safely and efficiently head on by developing each separate module for ease of manufacture, delivery and installation from the outset. It’s great to see the new school block taking shape and we’re looking forward to seeing the staff and students making the most of their new space once the project completes."

For more information call 01482 635 08, email [email protected] or visit www.m-ar.co.uk