Hobson & Porter, Innovation based on tradition

Putting the finishing touches to the main hall

A dynamic new school is to open its doors to pupils next week. Maybury Primary School has been rebuilt next to the existing school in Maybury Road, east Hull. The £2.9m new building has been designed with children and staff in mind by John Elliott, an architect with Hull City Council.

He said: "We did a lot of research and visited a school in Gateshead as well as schools in Denmark and Sweden. We had a brief for 210 pupils and a 26-place nursery. What we wanted was to ensure things were sustainable. It has features such as ground-source heating and a rain water harvest for half the roof. Excess water goes into tanks and is used to flush the loos."

The new school has a central atrium that lets in natural light and is the only school in the city to have a sprinkler system installed. The modern facilities have been built following Hull City Council's Transforming Our Primary Schools (Tops) initiative.

Claire Patton, headteacher at the school, said: "The children are looking forward to it. They have been involved throughout and some of them have been to see inside."

Other features of the school include a separate hall and dining area. Meals will be prepared on the school site in the new restaurant. Captain John Hotchin, governor and school chaplain said: "In a community like this where there is a lot of poverty and hardship, but a lot of lovely people, it is good to know it is not only the affluent areas that get the resources. It is something nice for the children and makes them feel part of something really special."

Builders Hobson and Porter ensured the new school was built with minimum disruption. A separate site entrance was used with deliveries outside dropping off and picking up saving time at the school gates. The construction company also set pupils painting competitions so they were involved with the new building. The school will open to 210 pupils and 26 nursery children on Thursday, November 8.

Article courtesy of the Hull Daily Mail