Education

Hill House School New Court

A comprehensive education retrofit transforming an existing serviced office building into state-of-the-art specialist teaching facilities for Hill House School.

Education RetrofitIndependent SchoolMusic & Art SchoolFitness CentreDoncaster

Project Overview

Client: Hill House School

Hill House School is an award-winning independent day school for children aged from 3 to 18 years. The development of New Court was the culmination of a visionary expansion plan for the school, enhancing both the academic and co-curricular experiences of a growing number of pupils from across the region.

The project utilised an existing building next to the main campus, formerly used as serviced offices, to provide state-of-the-art facilities including a bespoke Music School, a vibrant Art School, a fully equipped Fitness Centre, and a dedicated Year 6 Suite.

These modern amenities enhanced the school’s ability to offer a broad and dynamic curriculum, while also releasing space across the grounds to increase the number of classrooms and workspaces available to the school.

Hill House School New Court refurbished classroom

Modern teaching space at Hill House School New Court

Key Features

The project included a comprehensive refurbishment programme, introducing modern mechanical and electrical systems as well as new fixtures, fittings and decoration, enabling the building to meet the rigorous requirements of modern teaching.

New electrical, data and presentation systems for modern classrooms
Replacement windows and curtain walling to improve environmental performance and safety provisions
State-of-the-art heating and cooling systems
Repairs to the original building fabric to improve performance and reduce maintenance requirements

Specialist music classroom at Hill House School New Court

Design Approach

The school campus is surrounded by development, including Doncaster Sheffield Airport, so the acquisition of the New Court building provided an excellent opportunity for the school to expand its provision within its existing campus.

Originally constructed as part of the training provision for RAF Finningley, the existing building was well proportioned for teaching but required significant upgrade and repair to create comfortable learning environments.

JHA undertook surveys of the existing building to inform the repairs and upgrades required, then provided a comprehensive design package to bring the building in line with modern teaching standards.

Refurbished corridor and learning environment at New Court

Challenges and Delivery

We worked closely with the client’s Working Group, comprising trustees and staff members with different levels of construction experience, to ensure that they had full understanding and approval of the proposals before the project moved forward.

During the planning stage, JHA helped the Working Group prioritise works in line with the available budget, creating a clear plan for future phases of works and upgrades. We then kept the team up to date throughout the works, explaining complex planning and building control issues in a way that could be understood by all.

The existing building posed a number of challenges to bring it in line with modern requirements, and bespoke solutions were required to achieve compliance with both Building Regulations and teaching standards.

Hill House School classroom refurbishment

Live Campus Coordination

Once the project commenced, careful coordination was required to manage health and safety alongside the active school campus. Deliveries were coordinated around pick-up and drop-off times to reduce the impact on school operations, with clear communication maintained with the school’s facilities and safeguarding teams throughout the works.

Despite unforeseen complexities within the existing building after the start of works on site, JHA worked with the contractor and school to ensure the project stayed within the tight programme window available, allowing the new building to open in line with the school’s term dates.

New Court external refurbishment at Hill House School

Operational Impact

The completed refurbishment project has provided state-of-the-art specialist teaching facilities, improving the school’s ability to provide specialist music, art and fitness provision in line with its mission to “educate, develop, and inspire the whole pupil, now, and for life”.

The project has also eased pressure elsewhere on campus, providing the opportunity for the school to develop its nursery provision further and creating capacity for a resilient and adaptable campus, ready for the future.

Project Outcome

This education retrofit project demonstrates how bespoke design can facilitate the rejuvenation and modernisation of an existing building to suit the rigorous requirements of modern teaching. Despite the complexity of working within a live school environment, the project successfully supports the expansion and future-proofing of one of the leading independent schools in the north of England.