North East & Yorkshire

The art of education

Prior Pursglove Sixth Form College

A new Arts & Media block for Prior Pursglove Sixth Form College has reached completion.

Work began on the project in March 2012 and was completed in November 2012. The £1.65 million project was implemented by Prior Pursglove Sixth Form College and funded through Government grants.

Wharton Construction was the main contractor on the site, whilst DKS Architects provided all architectural services for the project.

Discussing the new facility, Prior Pursglove Sixth Form College Principal, Judy Burton, commented:

“These brand new facilities are a tremendous boost to our Arts subjects and will encourage further development of an already highly successful subject area. There is a real need for greater participation in the Arts in Redcar and Cleveland. Our new state of the art building will enable our students to expand their opportunities as well as provide an additional focus for our local community.”

Prior Pursglove Sixth Form College

Labour MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, Tom Blenkinsop, added:

“Not only does Prior Pursglove College provide young people and adult learners in my constituency with fantastic opportunities, but it does a great job at working with its partners in education and business to move Teesside’s and North Yorkshire’s economy forward.”

The new three-storey facility was built using a traditional steel frame with cavity wall construction, and over clad with external boarding. The building provides 1200 sq meters of floor space, includes a natural ventilation system and replaces a former facility on the site.

Prior Pursglove Sixth Form College

In addition to the construction of the new building, external works on the project included hard landscaping, the installation of seating areas and the planting of trees between the new build and the existing structures.

DKS Architects Partner, Dave Knudsen, said:

“We have worked closely with the College for the last 15 years and prepared a strategic master plan for the College’s future development involving new build, remodelling and extensions to create a modern and integrated campus feel.

“One of the challenges on this project was that all of the work took place on a live site, so all of the site traffic had to be carefully managed accordingly. The new Arts & Media building is situated at the farthest point away from the entrance to the College, so all deliveries had to be chaperoned or scheduled to arrive either before or after school operating hours.”

Prior Pursglove Sixth Form College

Dave added:

“For the College, the Arts & Media building is an important and attractive facility as it will draw in new students in competition with surrounding colleges. Following completion of the Creative Arts building, we are now working with the College to implement the next phase of its development to be ready in time for the 2013 student intake.”

Prior Pursglove Sixth Form College

Wharton Construction

Based in Darlington, Wharton Construction is a principal building contractor undertaking contracts up to a value of £2.5 million, throughout North Yorkshire, County Durham, Teesside, Teesdale, Hambleton and Tyneside. The company was set up in 1984 and completes work across a broad range of sectors, including commercial, leisure, health and educational sectors, amongst others.

Clients for Wharton Construction include Stockton Borough Council, English Heritage, the National Health Service, Royal Mail and Orange and the company always completes work on time and within budget.

Wharton Construction offers the best value service to clients, and has developed an Environmental Management System to the standard of ISO 14001 to ensure it minimises impact on the environment.

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