Hazeley Community School

Client: Milton Keynes Council
Main Contractor: Shepherd Construction
Subcontractor: L. Reynolds

Project Profile

Rounded music rooms and angled classroom entrances in a new secondary school for Milton Keynes Council underline the versatility of Knauf Drywall plasterboard products in providing attractive, practical building solutions.

Drylining subcontractor L. Reynolds (Building Systems) Ltd drew on Knauf Drywall’s technical expertise to achieve 1.7m radius bends in double layers of 12.5mm Knauf Soundshield. This was specified for the curved walls of 10 music practice rooms in Phase One of the £20 million Hazeley Community School.

Main contractor on the £9.2 million first phase was Shepherd Construction. Reynolds contracts manager Sean Reynolds says Knauf Soundshield was teamed up with 70mm Knauf Acoustic Stud and Knauf Apertura perforated plasterboard ceilings to provide excellent acoustic performance in the music rooms. "This combination of products and systems ensures reasonable acoustic privacy between the rooms, and avoids disturbance of activities beyond the music department," he says.

Reynolds also used Knauf Soundshield on 70mm Knauf C Studs for acoustic insulation between general teaching areas. All drylining was designed for acoustic performance in accordance with Building Bulletin 93 – part of the approved process for design and construction of all new school works.

Stairwells and corridors – featuring 450 classroom entrances for easier access – were finished in Knauf Denseshield. This specialist board offers high impact resistance and is well suited to heavy traffic areas. Inner walls of teaching areas were completed with Knauf Wallboard, while Knauf Fireshield was used to encase steel columns in the two-storey building. Suspended ceilings throughout the school use the Knauf MF system.

Hazeley Community School, developed to serve a growing population on the western side of Milton Keynes, opened to its first 300 pupils – in Years 7 and 8 – in September 2005.

The 6,000m² first phase includes a teaching wing, with general and specialist teaching spaces, a library, an individual learning centre, a 600m2 sports and assembly hall, music, drama and gymnasium facilities, a kitchen and dining hall. The school is supported by a high specification infrastructure including a broadband-enabled network and interactive whiteboards.

Later phases, with space for up to 1,500 pupils from age 11-18, will include further teaching wings, a sports pavilion, and a dedicated sixth form. The site will also house the new Walnuts school for children with special educational needs, which will cater for up to 90 students in a £4.5 million facility due to open in September 2006.