Sir John Nelthorpe School

Overview

Mason Clark Associates (MCA) has a long standing working relationship with North Lincolnshire Council (NLC), and as such was appointed through the NLC Framework to provide multi-disciplinary design services for internal improvements to the Sir John Nelthorpe School in Brigg, North Lincolnshire.

Sir John Nelthorpe School, is an 11-19 voluntary controlled co-educational facility originally dating back to 1669, with the modern school opening in 1976.

The school is very popular within its locality and the surrounding areas, the now completed upgraded facilities are enriching the learning experiences for all of its students.

Challenges and Solutions

This project initially covered the construction of an extension to create an inclusion unit and partial refurbishment classrooms. It grew to encompass window replacements in a historic building on the site. The combined projects presented several challenges that were addressed through innovative solutions and careful planning:

• Structural complexity: we experienced unexpected structural issues such as the brickwork being supported on the window frames, and significant concealed decay in the structural timber, mainly due to the historic nature of parts of the building. MCA’s engineers were quick to respond with careful examination of any issues, instigating discussions with the contractors, and engaging their knowledge of traditional methods for the repair of historic buildings.
• Retention of historic features: there was a need for consideration of how to retain and preserve historic features, this was achieved by using our extensive knowledge of wide ranging guidance on this subject.
• Ongoing access & health and safety advisers: we assisted with planning for access and the phasing of the works to enable the school to carry on operating throughout the project.
• Project co-ordination: we managed all aspects of the site progress, from liaising with contractors to overseeing third-party involvement. This included handling compensation events, chairing progress meetings and ensuring that the works were carried out to specification within the set programme.

MCA's Contribution

MCA played a central role in delivering these essential improvements to the school. Our key contributions and services included:

• Structural design and design coordination
• Aiding with the specification in conjunction with other consultants
• Compiling tender documents, tender review and advice
• Project management
• CDM Principal Designer
• NEC Supervisor role
• Contract administration
• Team approach: Our responsibilities of full-service project management included coordinating a multi-disciplinary team that encompassed architecture, quantity surveying, building surveying and M&E design.
• Collaborative working: we acted as a vital link between our client, the project team and the contractor ensuring all aspects of the project were managed efficiently and within budget.

Results

This phase of the project is now complete and was delivered to the client’s satisfaction and within the agreed budgetary controls.

As a result of MCA’s excellent service, our client has now appointed MCA to manage and co-ordinate further window replacements to the historic part of the school, with the project forecasted to start in the summer of 2025.