Education

Quantity surveying and claims support for schools, colleges, universities and education facilities.

Commercial challenges and how we approach them

Education projects combine teaching spaces with circulation, services and specialist rooms. New construction and alterations may be phased around an occupied campus or agreed holiday periods. Temporary accommodation and the boundary between existing and new facilities need to be included in the construction scope.

Holiday work with an immovable return date

The Challenge

The pupils return on a fixed date. A late school release or design decision can leave installation, testing and cleaning competing for the same final days of the holiday.

Our approach

We make the available access window and handover requirements explicit in the price. If time is lost, we compare the cost of realistic recovery options, such as additional shifts, temporary provision or deferring an area. The account records what was instructed and why, so an acceleration claim can be assessed against the lost time and work affected rather than the pressure of the opening date alone.

Building beside an operating school

The Challenge

Safeguarding routes, exam periods and deliveries outside pupil movements can constrain work even when the site is technically available. Moving boundaries during construction can add hoarding and supervision costs.

Our approach

We check the priced arrangements against the school's actual access and safeguarding requirements. Additional hoarding, supervision or restricted hours are assessed by phase, using records of what changed.

Specialist teaching spaces and equipment

The Challenge

Science benches and workshop equipment need more than a space on the plan. Drainage, extraction, power and builders' work may be designed around a particular supplier's equipment. If the supplier is selected late, the services package can be committed before those requirements are known.

Our approach

We compare room data and equipment schedules with the trade orders. Any missing connections are identified before procurement where possible; later revisions are valued across the equipment, services and finishes, with duplicated allowances removed.

Decant, demolition and final site completion

The Challenge

Occupation of the new block may be followed by months of demolition and external works on the old site.

Our approach

We keep separate cost and payment records for the new building, decant-related construction, demolition and final reinstatement. That makes the remaining work visible after the move. Completion and retention are assessed against the contract's sectional arrangements, rather than assuming the whole project has finished because the school is using its new classrooms.