Twydall School

The £1million new-build and £500,000 refurbishment of what was Twydall infant and junior schools into one merged school meant the children with impaired hearing no longer had to go to Maidstone for part of their education. Two of the three classrooms in each year, from nursery to Year 6, are now acoustically treated.

“The school thought they were just going to get some standard ceilings but when they came back from the holidays they had a very pleasant surprise, especially for the hearing-impaired students.” The project was very challenging as the main areas of work in the main school building had to be completed during the summer holidays.

We were asked by the architect, who had produced some designs and wanted to use acoustic canopies, for some solutions.

In conjunction with the manufacturer, designs were produced using Armstrong canopies and ceilings and put forward to the architects.

The work was priced and GTCI were successful in securing the project but by this time there was only had two weeks lead time left to secure 172 of the required canopies. With the help and co-operation of the client, CCF distributors in Ashfield and Armstrong, somehow GTCI managed to get all of the canopies to site and installed in time for the school to return from summer break.

Six classrooms at Twydall which needed to cater for children with cochlear implants.

Circular Axiom canopies with grey painted trims to reflect the school’s corporate colours were installed. These canopies are complemented by eight smaller circular Optima mineral canopies and all contain lighting elements.

In other classrooms and the school hall, more than 160 of Armstrong’s concave and convex Ultima mineral canopies are suspended from the soffit, while Ultima OP tiles and fine fissured tiles were installed in a new administration block by GTCI had a team of eight on site for five weeks installing a total of 1,000m² of ceilings as well as partition walls and dry lining in all areas.

We worked through the areas together in a cycle closely following each other. Deadlines and deliveries had to be met or the whole cycle would falter and delay everyone. Armstrong and CCF working together, hit every delivery date that was promised, ensuring the work continued at the required pace.

Quite extraordinarily, considering that the canopies came from, we believe, all over the world, no products arrived damaged or faulty in any way. We did not need to return as much as a perimeter trim. This project shows what can be achieved when you have a progressive architect along with a contractor, sub-contractors, distributor and manufacturer who all have the will and determination to work together as a team to achieve a common goal - quite rare, we believe these days.”

The school was finished and open ready for the children to return to education after the school holiday.