Windows, Doors and Roofline for Horsford Church of England VA Primary School, NR10

What We Did

Classroom back doors and fire exits

Around ten external classroom back doors open straight out to the playground and covered areas. These are the classrooms’ fire exits, so each one was replaced with a white uPVC door fitted with a door closer and anti-finger-trap protection on the hinge side. The closers bring each door back under control rather than letting it slam, and the finger guards close the gap that catches small hands.

These are fire exit doors, not fire-resisting doors. Their job is to let a class get out quickly and safely, and to stay secure when they are shut.

Aluminium doorsets (playground, courtyard, kitchen)

Three of the busiest openings needed commercial aluminium Shopline doorsets rather than uPVC. All three include anti-finger-trap protection as standard.

The playground emergency exit is a pair of white aluminium French doors with horizontal panic bars and hold-open closers, so the doors can stay open at break times and still close under control when released. The courtyard French doors sit on a fire route, so they have standard self-closing closers with no hold-open. Facing the road, the kitchen has a solid white aluminium pad door with a hold-open closer for deliveries.

We liaised with the fire inspector on the exit arrangements, including the panic hardware, closers and hold-opens, so the finished doors matched what the school needed for day-to-day use and for evacuation.

Windows matching the original elevations

Across the school the new windows and doors are white uPVC, chosen to sit comfortably on the older elevations rather than looking like flat modern panes.

The kitchen elevation is the largest run: five tall windows of around 3.4m, with attic windows above. We cut out glazing in the kitchen and fitted an extractor fan as part of the job. The attic windows were fitted from our own access equipment, because the kitchen attic hatch sits around three metres up with no built-in ladder.

Around six shaped windows in the Principal’s office were made to follow their existing openings. High-level windows above the boiler room complete the main elevations.

Bathroom windows and roofline

Four toilet-block windows were replaced in white uPVC with obscure glass. Over the front toilet block we fitted new black fascias, soffits and guttering, replacing timber that had been splitting and coming away.

Boiler room

High windows above the boiler room were replaced in white uPVC with a multi-pane bar pattern to match the original look. The boiler room itself has a new steel louvred door, so the plant room stays ventilated and secure.

Working on a live school site

All of the work was planned for the August 2026 summer holidays and finished in under two weeks, so no teaching time was lost. Our installers are directly employed by Amber, DBS-checked and briefed on safeguarding.

Electrics were made safe before the old frames came out and second-fixed once the new windows and doors were in, through our preferred electrical contractor. Making good was included so openings were finished neatly rather than left for someone else to tidy. We brought access equipment as needed for the high kitchen and attic work.

Keys and overnight security were agreed with the school at a high level: the building was locked down each evening and keys were handed back at completion. Waste was cleared as the work went on, and each area was left clean for the new term.