School building project is a lesson in success

May 15 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

“The council has invested substantially in this new school to provide the best future for the children of Durham so it was very important to us that we did not then exceed this budget and that we delivered a school that met the high expectations both in terms of its environmental standards and as a state-of-the-art educational facility.”

The next stages of the development will see GB demolish the old school building and construct a new car park and entrance to the school site. It will also build a new sports field on the site of the old car park.

Headteacher Carolyn Roberts said: “Our school has a long and proud history and this is our third state-of-the-art building since 1901. We are all absolutely delighted – the whole process has gone very smoothly and the finished result couldn’t be better.”

The build follows a number of lucrative contracts secured by GB, including the £2.2m redevelopment of a three-storey library in Haltwhistle, Northumberland, which involves preserving the 108-year-old stone-built Victorian Mechanics Institute building which houses it.

The firm, which has its head office in Surrey and employs 75 workers in the North East, is also involved in a £15.5m project to build three schools in Blyth and a £12m contract at Cramlington High School to construct four connecting buildings, and now believes it can grow its North East turnover by £20m to £100m over the next few years.