Graven Hill Primary School

Ready for the start of the school year in September 2023, Graven Hill Primary School is the latest addition to a self-built community in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

The development began in 2016 after the plot was made available for buyers by Cherwell District Council, who purchased the former Ministry of Defence site in 2014.

Serving 420 pupils aged between four to 11 with 90 nursery places available, the school has been “designed to Net Zero Carbon principles” and is aiming to become an inclusive institution built around the local community.

The school will form part of a development that currently has over 400 homes built within it.

The Requirement

Kier Construction ran the build and appointed us to provide the external shading solutions for the school, following on from our successful partnership on the Heltwate School project.

With a focus on excellence forming as one of the key core values for the school, the design included state of the art facilities for art, design and technology alongside 12 classrooms and over 13,000sqm of pitches and socialising areas.

Four canopies were required to form part of the outdoor learning strategy and provide adequate shelter for the socialising areas.

The Solution

We surveyed the plot as part of our free on-site, no obligation offer, before manufacturing and installing four of our WeatherSpan® Freestanding Aluminium Canopies.

Each canopy was installed directly outside a classroom, providing excellent shelter for outdoor learning throughout the year, and varied in length, with the largest spanning 34.5m x 2.6m and the total length of all four measuring over 115m.

Furthermore, the canopy legs were meticulously measured and spaced to prevent any conflict with opening doors and windows.

Safety glass was used on the roof across all four canopies, with the design including brise soleil above the roof to provide two layers of UV protection.

The Installation

In a summer full of busy surveys and installations, our expert team worked closely with Kier Project Manager, Andy Stockwin, to ensure the project ran smoothly from start to finish and was ready for the school’s opening.

Andy commented:

This project was my first experience of working with Waverley Exteriors and it has to be said its been an enjoyable experience. Right from the design process, through to operational and commercial, Waverley have a very collaborative approach to work, and nothing seems too much of a problem to sort. On site, Michael Denyer was a pleasure to deal with, Dan and his team equally, and their attitude to H&S and quality was up there with the best. I am confident this will definitely not be the last time I have the pleasure of working with the Waverley team, and I thank you again for all the hard work, and quality install.

If you’d like to discuss a canopy installation for your project, contact us here and one of our expert team will happily assist.