Client: Verulam School
Verulam School has used Amthal to upgrade the security and fire safety measures across the school for the benefit of staff, pupils and visitors.
Based in St Albans, Verulam School is a secondary school for boys with academy status. The specialist comprehensive school, which is larger than average for a secondary site, needed to upgrade all security and fire safety measures in line with latest fire regulations, to safeguard the school and ensure the safety of all who attend.
The school consulted with Amthal Fire & Security to ensure a complete site survey was conducted that looked at all aspects of safety and security, following which a works programme was established to install new solutions where necessary, working around dedicated learning timetables.
Says Phil Hammond, Site Manager at Verulam School: “With the academy status of the school, we needed to ensure the security and fire safety measures on site could accommodate not only the school use, but also the extra curricular activity and increasingly wider variety of visitors utilising our premises.
“Amthal Fire & Security partnered with us right from the initial design process of the security and fire safety requirements through to creating a continuous programme of works planned around our budget, resource allocation and timeframes. In a competitive market, I was very lucky to find a company that truly put the school and my own thoughts first, listened to what I wanted and continue to deliver exactly what they said they would.
The electronic security solution specified, incorporated state of the art IP CCTV together with access control and automatic fire detection systems, all integrated into existing platforms. Most recently, Amthal Fire & Security has installed a new entry system for the school.
Jamie Allam, Commercial Director of Amthal Fire & Security added: “The Department for Education is faced with an estimated budget shortfall of £600 million in 2015-16, according to the Association of Colleges. Despite these financial constraints, it is essential that the safety and security of students, staff and the public is not compromised.
“What our work with Verulam School demonstrates is the attention to detail, in working closely with the site management team to create an upgrade programme that is scaleable to fit within the budget, timescales and resource available, especially careful not to disturb learning timetables. This way more cost effective measures can be taken provide the necessary peace of mind for staff, pupils and visitors at all times.”