ALPRO MAKES IMPRESSION AT KINGDOWN SCHOOL
KingdownSchool, a co-educational secondary school and sixth form in Wiltshire, is using stainless steel door handles from the Impressionist range by Alpro. The pull handles have been fitted to 27 doors created by Richmark Aluminium Systems on the school’s new sixth form centre designed by E10 Architects, a RIBA-registered practice with offices in Wiltshire and Dorset.
The civils work at the school was performed by Ken Biggs Contractors Ltd. Based between Bristol and Bath, they have undertaken many school projects in the Somerset and Wiltshire areas, coming to the client with an impressive track record of relevant experience performed on budget and to tight timescales.
The Alpro Impressionist 2 handles have a diameter of 32mm and there are options of 250/300/400 and 600mm centres. Finishes can be anodised, satin stainless or polished stainless. Handles are supplied with dedicated bolt-thro or back-to-back fixing packs as standard.
Keith Parry, Sales Director at Alpro, said: “The Impressionist handles can be nylon or powder-coated and on this project at Kingdown School the client opted for satin stainless with a grey powder coat to complement the building’s outer cladding which features a timber grain effect and inset windows. We offer several nylon-coated colours ex-stock with additional colours to match customer livery supplied to a 10-working-day lead time.”
Bath-based Richmark Aluminium Systems fabricate doors, windows, conservatories, shop fronts and curtain walling. The company can operate on a supply-only or full management basis and its portfolio covers education, healthcare, residential and commercial clients within a 130-mile radius of Bristol.
KingdownSchoolis ranked in the top 10 secondary schools in Wiltshire with pupil ages ranging from 11 to 18. The school, which is located in Warminster, operates a house system (the houses are all named after notable English sports venues) and since 2011 it has been an academy.
The school’s exam results are excellent and improving. In 2014, students achieved 75.4% five A*-C (68.5% with English and mathematics) at GCSE with a 99.7% pass rate at A2 with 44.3% of grades at A*/A/B.
Extra-curricular activities are diverse and Kingdown recently competed in a national karting championship with four teams of four drivers qualifying from the initial elimination round. At the time of writing, these teams are going forward to south-west regional finals at the Thruxton Motorsport Centre in Andover, Hampshire. In a totally different sphere, the design and technology department recently demonstrated practical projects with a ‘Punk themed’ fashion show and design exhibition. The exhibition showcased final projects completed by GCSE and ‘A’ level students.
Initiatives aimed at preparing pupils for further vocational and academic study are wide-ranging. Students considering nursing as an option are able to ‘shadow’ staff at Great Western Hospital in Swindon and this programme includes experience in clinical areas, clinical skills and care delivery training as well as interview hints.
There are also events lasting four days at Bournemouth University Summer Schools for students in years 11 & 12. Here, pupils are given a real experience of university life, living in student accommodation, experiencing university-level teaching and taking part in a variety of social activities. Interestingly, Alpro access control products (in this case overhead transom closers for hydraulically controlling the opening and closing of aluminium doors) have also been used at Dorchester House, a 540-bed residence which is let exclusively during term time to Bournemouth University.
The Alpro transom closers are designed for durability and have been tested independently at 250,000 double-action cycles. In addition to Bournemouth, they have been used at the universities of London, Portsmouth and Liverpool, and secondary education usage now includes the Philip Morant School in Essex as well as Kingdown School.
Kingdown has received national recognition for the value it adds to students’ achievements at GCSE. SSAT, the Schools, Students and Teachers Network, recently undertook its annual in-depth analysis of official Department for Education data on all state-funded schools in England and identified Kingdown’s success.
The school has qualified for an SSAT Educational Outcomes Award by being in the top 20% of schools nationally for progress made by pupils between their key stage 2 results at primary school and their GCSE results at age 16. The school has been invited to receive its award at a regional celebration ceremony hosted by SSAT at Plymouth in May and is looking forward to sharing good practice principles with its peers as well as networking and celebrating success with other award-winning schools.
Last year, one of Kingdown’s many unusual initiatives to raise money for its chosen charity, Rays of Sunshine, was a “static” multi terrain triathlon, this being a 673-mile simulated journey from Warminster to John O’ Groats. Students made the “journey” using two treadmills, two bikes and two rowing machines with pupils using all six pieces of equipment throughout the day and students competing against each other with staff also joining in. Many at Kingdown signed up for 15-minute slots to contribute their individual mileage and members of 1 Yorkshire Regiment were on hand to further encourage participants. The Rays of Sunshine Children's Charity brightens the lives of children aged between three and eighteen across the United Kingdom who are living with serious or life-limiting illnesses.
All students at Kingdown are made aware of the carbon footprint of their activities and the school has a high level of ecological awareness. This is consistent with the appointment of E10 Architects to design the new block on the campus. The practice was founded with the specific purpose of providing energy-efficient buildings through design rather than just technologies. This stems from a belief that energy-efficient and environmentally-sound architecture need not cost more than standard procedures and should encompass all aspects of the design, materials and methods of construction into a holistic solution. While it was not practicable at Kingdown, other E10 school projects have seen the design incorporate PV panels with internal display screens that allow pupils to see the energy being generated.
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