Projects - Arrowtown Primary School

Arrowtown Primary School

The Ministry of Education commissioned the rebuild of the Arrowtown Primary School after discovering watertightness issues in seven of the school campus' nine buildings.

Four of the leaky buildings were demolished, and extensive civil works and infrastructure upgrades completed, prior to the building stage of a two-storey school block containing open and flexible learning environments. The new building includes fourteen teaching & learning spaces, breakout spaces, a presentation area, a new library, and an adjoining single-storey administration and staff building. This new structure consists of a combination of steel frames, discrete steel bracing elements and precast flooring maximising offsite construction for speed and cost efficiency.

The remaining primary school buildings were refurbished as needed to make them waterproof and consistent with modern school requirements including new rooves, new external cladding, new windows, and a remediation of the school's hall. Two existing blocks were seismically strengthened with new roof cross bracing, steel portal frames and plasterboard bracing walls.

Strengthening the school's resilience while also providing a teaching opportunity for the students, the new two storey learning block's roof was fitted with a new solar panel system. The outdoor learning areas and landscaping were also extensively overhauled.

The local region's population is expected to expand, requiring the school to increase their capacity from their current 540 pupils up to around 700 students. This project has provided the school with the infrastructure needed to manage this expansion with ease.

The construction had to be undertaken with minimal disturbance to the school's learning activities, as the school remained operational onsite during the two years of the building projects. Classes continued in temporary buildings during the building stages so the teachers could continue to deliver quality learning opportunities for their kids, while also maintaining a pleasant work environment for the staff.

The relaxed and accessible relationship the school has with its environment contributed to the success of the site's design and subsequent execution of its construction. The school children were particularly happy with the Teletubby Playground where they have already spent numerous hours playing on and in the new sandpit.