Customer: Foxwood School

Location: Hythe, Kent   

Requirement: Growing pupil numbers meant that Foxwood School needed to build specialist new facilities to maintain the high levels of care and education required by its pupils. Foxwood School is a day and residential school for pupils aged from 2 to 19 who have learning difficulties. Kent County Council (KCC) initiated, funded and managed the building project. They appointed specialist support services company Mouchel Parkman to oversee the design, procurement and construction of the new building.

Solution: Ted Dingley, Operations Manager at Mouchel Parkman, says: “The timescales for the project were very tight, so we knew that a modular building would be the best solution. We had worked with Portakabin recently and knew that theirs was the best-quality product on the market, and that they could deliver on time.”

Portakabin worked closely with KCC Property Group, Mouchel Parkman, the school and main contractor King and Johnston to design a building that met all of the school’s requirements. The company’s high-quality Ultima building modules were specified, providing robust, attractive and comfortable accommodation. These buildings offer exceptional levels of thermal efficiency, making them cost-effective and environmentally friendly to run. Like all new buildings from Portakabin, the Ultima building system is backed by a pioneering 5-year product warranty and 20-year structural warranty.

Mouchel Parkman Senior Building Surveyor, Hugh Aitken, says: “We were up against a very challenging schedule, but Portakabin did exactly what they promised, delivering and installing the building right on schedule.”

Such precise deliveries are assured by the unique Portakabin Customer Charter, which promises to deliver all buildings on time and on budget. The Charter even promises that if Portakabin ever fails to meet this commitment it will provide an additional six months’ product warranty, free of charge.*

The new building at Foxwood School is constructed from 16 Ultima modules and features two large classrooms, a kitchen, dining area, toilet facilities, offices and a staff room. It provides learning facilities for up to 20 children aged between five and eight years, as well as 17 members of staff.  Portakabin built in several special features for the school, including safe-opening windows that do not protrude outside the building when opened, handrails for children with physical disabilities and a large canopy over the main entrance to provide shelter from the elements. The building was also set into the ground to create level access to all doors.

Corinne Owen, Head of Lower School, says: “We are delighted with the new building, and everyone has settled in very well. Staff have been pleasantly surprised by the quality and comfort of the building, which has a bright, spacious feel to it, with plenty of natural light. 

“The way rooms are cleverly linked enables us to move children around much more efficiently, which in turn increases their learning time. The excellent canopy makes the building a true all-weather facility, allowing children to go outside whatever the weather.”