In charge of the development of the 22,224sq.m facility was Jarvis plc, a facilities management and infrastructure services group, and the first company to win a schools project under the government’s Private Finance Initiative. The Jarvis team worked in partnership with the local education authority to create the facility, and also with a number of sub-contractors - amongst them Maltbury, who fulfilled the staging part of the contract.
As the facility's main hall is used for school presentations and exams, the Jarvis team wanted to provide under-stage storage for the exam desks without lifting the height of the stage. To achieve this, Maltbury designed and built storage units to fit neatly underneath the stage which was built from 33 units of its heavyweight Steeldeck 7.5 system. In addition, Maltbury also supplied a selection of accessories, including handrails and treads. The package was customised further with drapes to match the main stage drapes and, to add the finishing touches, a removable velour carpet to cover the whole stage.
For the school's drama centre, Maltbury supplied a package of 30 Metrodeck units and to provide maximum flexibility, the module units came with painted tops, handrails, treads and black wool serge drapes. Special trolleys were also supplied to facilitate understage storage for the accessories when not in use.
(Ruth Rossington)
