Clara Grant Primary School was built in 1905 to serve the educational needs of local children in Bow, East London. It is housed in a traditional Edwardian three storey red brick building that had recently been remodelled under the government’s PFI [Private Finance Initiative] scheme.

• Increasing numbers of staff faced with insufficient teaching space
• Lessons having to be taken in school corridors
• Inability of the existing staff room to accommodate up to 60 staff during the working day
• Insufficient space for lesson planning, marking, staff and visitor meetings and socialising by staff members

Redevelop the redundant roof top structure and existing open space.

The roof top area consisted of a large centrally located covered structure, a large playground area and two smaller play areas located either side of the covered structure. Sue's vision embraced the complete refurbishment and extension to the existing roof top structure to create:

• A large centrally located staff and meeting room with new full height double glazed arched windows that would provide a stunning outlook to the high rise buildings in Canary Wharf
• Two new adjoining teaching spaces, with modern WC’s and wash rooms, constructed either side of the new staff room that would be flexible spaces to support all aspects of the curriculum

Visible from the playground level were four clearly defined brickwork arches that matched the outlines of two existing glazed arches located at the top of the staircases on both sides of the building. By removing the in-filled brickwork, S&D was able to install two new full height double glazed arches crucial to creating a ‘light and airy feel’ to the new staff room and conference facility and thereby delivering on Sue’s vision for the roof top development.

In early 2009 S&D delivered Sue’s vision for the roof top development with its design and build solution. The solution retained many original features, added large areas of glass to both sides of the new structure and provided modern state of the art facilities that were displayed with bold and vibrant colours.

With little disruption or inconvenience to the day to day operation of school activities, S&D completed the roof top development on time within the approved budget, whilst overcoming many logistical and construction difficulties of working on the roof at Clara Grant Primary School.

"The result was breathtaking and both S&D and its team were excellent throughout - the views over Canary Wharf do not disappoint!"

Sue Ward | Head Teacher