Southam College

Situated in Warwickshire, Southam College is home to 1652 students aged 11-18 and forms part of the Stowe Valley Multi Academy Trust.

Rated outstanding in its most recent Ofsted report, Southam Colleges’ new facilities have been designed to achieve net zero carbon emissions by BAM’s construction and design teams.

The Requirement

To support the sustainability credentials of the project, we were contacted to design, manufacture and install two canopies for their outdoor social areas that could accommodate PV panels on the roof.

Following a free, no-obligation site survey, we submitted our proposal which was subsequently taken forwards on the project.

Our Solution

To house the PV panels, the roof design of our WeatherSpan® Canopies needed to be significantly different to our other installations of the systems.

Firstly, our Freestanding Apex Canopy, measuring 16.3m x 14m, required a two-tiered roof, with the apex raised above panels to the left and right side of the roof as shown below.

Meanwhile, the roof for our Freestanding Mono-pitch Canopy was also divided into two levels but on a sloped design, and measured 13.4m x 7m.

While the design and canopy style was different, both systems had a polycarbonate roof with 16mm multi-wall sheets and the gutters and downpipes integrated within the canopy frame.

The Outcome

We completed the installation earlier this year, giving BAM plenty of time to finish the surrounding areas ahead of the completion target of October 2024.

If you’d like to discuss PV panels, canopies or other external shelter facilities for your school, please contact us here and our expert team will be in touch!