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Education

Education construction in Christchurch and Canterbury

RPC Construction understands that building work at a school has to fit around the people who use it every day. We work closely with school staff to plan construction around teaching, access and day-to-day school life, with health and safety and clear communication throughout the project.

The completed cedar-clad teaching block at Rolleston Christian School in daylight, a covered walkway on slender steel posts running the length of its front, a bank of empty cubby shelving standing against the wall, the glazed doors closed and the concrete path empty

Working around an operating school

Construction at a school needs to be carefully planned around staff, pupils, parents and the normal school day. Our site foremen work closely with education staff to coordinate the work and minimise disruption.

We also take extra care when planning site visits, material deliveries and subcontractor access. Health and safety is a priority throughout the project, particularly where construction is taking place close to children and school activities.

A newly completed single-storey teaching block clad in dark board and vertical cedar panels, standing on bare unlandscaped ground with trestles and timber offcuts still lying about
RPC-M22PhotoA delivery arriving on a school site under control: truck at the gate, a spotter in hi-vis, cones and a taped route, gate closed behind. Outside class movement.16/9 · min 2000px wide

We understand the requirements of school projects

School building projects often come with requirements around funding, planning and procurement. For state and state-integrated schools, this can include working within the 10 Year Property Plan (10YPP) and 5 Year Agreement (5YA), as well as following the appropriate tendering process, including GETS for relevant projects.

RPC understands that there is more to a school project than the construction itself. We work with the people responsible for the project and plan the work around the school's requirements, term dates and day-to-day operation.

If you're planning a school building project and aren't sure what you need to have in place before approaching a builder, talk to us. We can help you understand what you need to consider from a construction perspective.

A school classroom with blue-topped tables and stacking chairs set out across patterned grey carpet, a wall-mounted screen and children's artwork pinned along a blue wall, and a glazed partition opening into a second teaching space beyond
“RPC met our tight tender deadline, they also presented us with the most comprehensive tender document along with the most competitive price, one that was within our very tight budget. I am pleased to say that RPC Construction has been one of the best firms that I have had the pleasure of dealing with and I have no hesitation in giving them one of the highest rating that I have given in any previous reference.”
Peter Marshall, Development Manager, The Christian Schools Trust

School projects

RPC's school projects are planned around an operating school and the people responsible for it.

Rolleston Christian School was RPC’s second project for The Christian Schools Trust: a cedar-clad teaching block with AV and technology spaces, built around an operating school, with buildability advice that reduced risk and cost for the client.

Questions boards ask

Can you work while the school is running?
That is the normal case rather than the exception. At Rolleston Christian School the new teaching block went up around an operating school, worked through with the principal so that students carried on with their studies. Deliveries, subcontractor visits and every other movement onto site are planned and co-ordinated in advance, because on a school site the traffic is the risk. Whether the whole programme fits inside term time or needs holiday periods for the noisy or disruptive stages is a question for your specific job, and the honest answer comes after we have seen it.
Who will the school actually be dealing with?
Named site staff, not a head office contact. The project manager, site manager and senior foreman are listed by name with direct phone numbers on the team page. The Belfast School testimonial on this site thanks RPC’s site manager by first name, which tells you where the relationship actually sat.
Can we see references from other schools?
Testimonials from education clients are published on this site: Peter Marshall, Development Manager at The Christian Schools Trust, the trust body behind Rolleston Christian School, and Belfast School in Christchurch. Both are reproduced in full at /testimonials. If your board needs referees it can telephone rather than quotations it can read, ask for them at tender stage.
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“We would like to commend Grant and his team at RPC Construction for their excellent work, not only for the construction project, but also for the efforts to work closely with the school to ensure disruption was kept to a minimum. ‘Thank you’”
Belfast School, Christchurch
Read the testimonials

Tell us about what your school needs.

Send us the scope and the calendar you have to work inside. We will tell you what fits and what does not.

Request a quote03 384 6073