Durham County Council

Great Results at Two North East Schools

Hundreds of schoolchildren are enjoying a lighter, brighter future at two Durham schools following an extensive upgrade project by Anglian Building Products. Anglian already had strong experience working with the housing and education sectors at Durham County Council, when it secured the contract to manufacture and supply hundreds of windows and doors as part of a six figure upgrade for two schools in County Durham.

And to ensure that the children were not only given the very best environment to learn in, Anglian has also pledged to donate £250 to spend on whatever equipment the students need.

The projects at Shotley Bridge Junior and Coundon Primary School both involved the installation of PVCu windows and aluminium doors, but the difference in the age and style of the buildings presented real design challenges for the Anglian team. Shotley Bridge was built in the early 1950s with large picture windows requiring 185 PVCu units and six doors. Completely different solutions had to be found to accommodate the larger windows in the school hall and gym.

‘ The overall effect of the new installations has been amazing and had been a real bonus for the children in terms of a lighter, brighter, learning environment.  Disruption was kept to a minimum with Anglian offering to work where possible outside of schools hours. Again, this meant the children’s education was not disrupted and we didn’t have to be concerned about their well-being as health and safety was paramount with Anglian.’ Denise Todd, Shotley Bridge Headteacher

In contrast, Coundon Primary was built in the 1930s and had box sash windows, so although standard products were fitted, additional finishing was required once the old frames were removed. In all, 320 PVCu units were fitted along with eight aluminium doors. Restrictive window catches were also specified for both schools to prevent children tampering with window openings.

‘ Our pre-start meetings with the head teachers at both schools got them fully involved in the projects and ensured we were able to work around the children and meet the schools’ needs. A good level of communication was essential and we were very pleased with how things went’ Robert Thompson, Senior Contract Manager for Anglian Building Products

Contract details