Capita Symonds - Our work

Our work

The Petchey Academy, London Harry, 27 (Procter Street, London)

Location: Hackney, London

Client: Department for Education and Skills (DfES)

Project timescale: April 2004 to November 2007

Project Value: £34m

The Project:

Capita Symonds is providing Construction Project Management services for the design and construction of The Petchey Academy, located in Hackney, that will cater for 1,200 pupils between 11-18 years of age.

The Academy is sponsored by the Jack Petchey Foundation and will specialise in healthcare and medical science. The site will be shared with a new child development centre, which is part of the NHS LIFT programme and will have teaching links to the Academy as part of its specialism.

The project includes provision of temporary accommodation to enable the Academy to open a year early for the first year group.

The design team has worked towards designing a solution that provides a high quality learning environment by using modern design principles and innovative materials. There will also be a high provision of ICT, enabling students to access the internet, educational networks, and communicate in collaborative enterprises.

What was Capita Symonds role on the project?

The site is located in an inner-city environment characterised by high levels of crime and unemployment. There is a poor air quality and high levels of noise from the surrounding roads which have required higher levels of mechanical ventilation than normal, the funding of which had to be negotiated with the DfES.

The challenges

One of the significant challenges to the project so far has been the provision of the temporary accommodation. After discussion with the design team, the option of utilising temporary buildings was considered most viable, providing the most robust and controllable route through a well planned and high quality solution.

Throughout the project there has been a need for considerable liaison between the sponsor, design team, and the education consultant, to ensure stakeholder buy-in to the scheme, and guarantee that the right solution to the project brief is found and client expectations are met.

Value engineering and risk management workshops have also played an integral part of delivering the project within budget. Capita Symonds has had much input into nurturing these vital components for the success of this project.

What was YOUR role on the project?

I have been Project Manager for the majority of the project lifecycle and contributed to driving forward the programme while facilitating risk identification and management. Sensitive stakeholder consultation and management has enabled challenging situations to be approached and analysed methodically and diligently to achieve a balanced buy-in from all parties. A collaborative ethos has been fostered within the project which minimises conflict and the associated disruption.