St Peter's School, St Albans

We completed the 1FE expansion of St Peter's School in St Albans on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council. This comprised the design & construction of a new two-storey eight classroom extension, the adaption and refurbishment of the existing building and the provision of a new MUGA facility and external landscaping and access arrangements.

Located adjacent to a conservation area and bounded by the River Ver, it was imperative that the building design, and the manner in which the works were undertaken, remained sensitive to the constraints placed on them by the local authority and the Environmental Agency. To accommodate their requirements, changes were made during the project to the facade cladding and the drainage system designs.

Minimising school disruption and maintaining the use of as much of their external space as possible, Apex routed the site access road along the little used riverbank boundary, protecting the eco-system and river by installing no-dig root protection and wastewater/fuel spill containment systems. Upon completion the road was converted to provide a new school access route.

Further project details include:

• Timber/SFS framed extension with aluminium cladding, windows & doors externally.
• A new, increased electrical supply to the whole site required and replacement of the incoming equipment in the existing building.
• Redesign of the gas fired heating & hot water system to an air source heat pump system, eliminating the requirement for a new gas supply.
• Redesign of the drainage systems when the planned foul mains connection proved to be unfeasible and to accommodate the local floodwater mitigation requirements.

The works continued throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and, with the Client’s agreement, Apex used the opportunity to undertake the refurbishment works within the existing building during the school shutdown.

Works completed ready for the planned September 2020 intake.