Final Borders School is opened to public
04.09.09
Hulley & Kirkwood have recently handed over the third and final school as part of the £72.5M Scottish Borders Council three High Schools PPP project.
Earlston High School opens its doors to pupils ready for the start of the new school year. This school was completed and handed over on 20th July 2009. Its main entrance with the library above is a unique piece of architecture and construction giving the building a 21st century feel. Sustainable solutions include the use of a wind turbine located on the slope at the back of the school. It reminds a new generation of pupils of renewable energy’s place in our future world and will be a useful educational tool – allowing pupils to measure electrical output against wind speed, for example. The entire school is designed and built to incorporate a wide range of environmentally responsible features; the wind turbine is just one of the more obvious reminders.
Borders Schools, being hailed as ‘the most environmentally advanced schools in Scotland’, consists of three new-build high schools - Earlston, Eyemouth and Berwickshire.
The aim of the project was to meet the Authorities’ requirement of building high quality, modern schools which inspire pupils and enhance the learning environment whilst ensuring each building is sustainable, respects the environment and encourages community use.
Scottish Borders Council had a particularly specific brief that all three schools should have sustainability in terms of energy usage, high on the priority list during the design with a major emphasis on the use of biomass boiler plants at all three schools.
Each biomass boiler is capable of running on woodchip fuel potentially sourced from local forests to reduce transportation, bringing about a significant reduction of CO2 emissions by over 50% in each building.
Zoned heating areas in each school allows for optimum control of temperatures and minimal energy consumption. Assisted natural ventilation in each school improves internal air quality, and preheated fresh air intake reduces drafts.
Proximeter sensor operated lights will be used only when needed in order to conserve energy and high ceilings maximise daylight and enhance internal air quality. All spaces within a 7m radius of a window have View Out Occupant controlled blinds in occupied rooms helping with Glare Control.
Other lighting strategies included High Frequency Lighting and internal and external lighting levels in line with CIBSE requirements including daylight control and Energy Efficient external lighting.
Wind turbines have also been installed at each location to illustrate the potential of renewable energy sources.
For such rural schools all effort has been made to mitigate ecological impacts, enhance site ecology and manage the long term impact on Biodiversity through the appointment of an ecologist and subsequent advice and recommendations via a management plan.
In conjunction with the ecologist works, consultation with students and staff at Local Wildlife Partnerships also helped to encourage biodiversity across the sites.
A pre-construction assessment showed that the buildings were capable of achieving a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’ based on credits achieved from eight areas – management, health and wellbeing, energy, transport, water, materials and waste, land use and ecology and pollution. Each building was Air Pressure tested to identify areas of heat escape and the results exceeded the requirements of the building regulations by 39%.
All three schools have obtained an Excellent ‘A’ status Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Having issued circulars to all 32 Scottish District Councils, current evidence and responses suggest that the Borders Schools are the first in Scotland to receive ‘A’ rated EPCs. Each school is currently targeting BREEAM Excellent subject to QA and certification from the BRE.
