Diminishing school roll numbers dictated the need to merge the Macandrew Intermediate and Forbury Schools in Dunedin. Signal Management Group worked with the establishment Board of Trustees and staff of both schools to facilitate a strategic plan for the merger and longer term development plan for the merged school, renamed Bathgate Park School.
Following detailed condition assessments of both schools the decision was made to merge the two schools onto the Macandrew Intermediate site, a process which included:
- The decommissioning and removal of 5 surplus classrooms
- Relocation of Forbury School's playground to Macandrew Intermediate
- Refurbishment of 10 classrooms to MLE standards
- Refurbishment of multiple existing aluminium double glazed windows
- Replacement of the boiler, chimney and controls
- Rewire of the school to provide full electrical / data / fibre optic capability
- Fire alarms and emergency lighting brought up to code.
Timing was a key driver. To minimise disruption to both schools and to ensure that the new merged school was available for the start of term 1 2012, careful planning resulted in design and construction being fast-tracked inside three months with the majority of the construction work associated with the $1.2M project being carried out during the Christmas recess.
As a result of the merger project Signal has subsequently been engaged to plan and manage a number of other on-going upgrades around the Bathgate Park School campus.
