Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn
Three-Building Heating and Hot Water UpgradeVital Synergy is delivering a £2 million heating and hot water upgrade across three main buildings at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Blackburn, the Ormerod, Singleton and Junior Buildings, coordinated under a single phased plan. Acting as Principal Contractor under CDM 2015, Vital Synergy is replacing failing and corroded boiler plant with eight new high efficiency condensing boilers, renewing distribution pipework, radiators and heat emitters, resolving gas meter and flue safety issues, and installing a new digital Building Management System across the estate. Legacy asbestos insulating board identified during survey work is being removed under controlled conditions ahead of installation. Delivery is phased around the academic calendar, with plantroom works concentrated in the summer holiday and disruptive pipe and radiator works in the Junior Building sequenced into evenings, weekends and half term, so the school retains heat and hot water throughout term time.
Client Overview
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School commissioned a coordinated heating and hot water upgrade across its Ormerod, Singleton and Junior Buildings after condition and refurbishment asbestos surveys confirmed all three systems were aged, failing and presenting a safety risk. The Junior Building's boilers, over 40 years old, were run manually each morning, with one failed and the other badly corroded, while Ormerod and Singleton each relied on a single ageing boiler with no redundancy.
Upgrading heating across three occupied school buildings demanded careful phasing around the academic calendar. Plantroom replacement was concentrated into the summer break, with the most disruptive pipe and radiator works in the Junior Building sequenced into evenings, weekends and half term, so classrooms kept their heat and hot water through the autumn term.
Failing boiler plant across all three buildings was replaced with modern high efficiency gas condensing boilers, two 80kW units in Ormerod, four 120kW units in Singleton, and equivalent capacity replacement in the Junior Building. Twin head Grundfos Magna 3 pumps, new pressurisation units and expansion vessels were installed throughout, replacing failed and obsolete equipment and giving every building built in redundancy.
The Junior Building received a full distribution replacement, removing corroded one pipe steelwork and old emitters and installing new insulated pipework with modern radiators, radiant panels and fan convectors throughout. A BMS controlled hot water cylinder of around 250 litres with backup immersion was also installed to serve the building.
New centralised stainless steel flue systems compliant with the Clean Air Act were installed to replace an At Risk Junior Building flue arrangement. The Ormerod gas meter, previously sited in an unventilated classroom cupboard, was relocated to a safe external enclosure, and the Singleton meter was upgraded from U25 to U65, all carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers.
New digital BMS controls were fitted across the estate, providing zoning, scheduling, holiday modes, temperature sensing, energy monitoring, safety interlocks, alarms and remote access. Legacy asbestos insulating board in ceilings, column casings and risers was removed by licensed contractors under controlled conditions ahead of installation, with provisional sums allowed for unforeseen discoveries.
Key Outcomes and Benefits
Two 80kW units in Ormerod, four 120kW units in Singleton and equivalent capacity replacement in the Junior Building, all high efficiency gas condensing plant.
Twin head pumps and replacement plant across all three buildings give the estate built in redundancy that the previous single boiler systems lacked.
Relocation of the Ormerod gas meter, the Singleton meter upgrade and new Clean Air Act compliant flues resolved every identified safety risk.
A new cylinder with backup immersion gives the Junior Building reliable, centrally controlled hot water with built in resilience.
Zoning, scheduling, holiday modes, energy monitoring and remote access now cover heating across all three buildings.
Phased delivery around the academic calendar keeps heat and hot water available throughout, with disruptive works confined to holidays, evenings and weekends.
Project Detail
As Principal Contractor under CDM 2015, Vital Synergy is managing a phased programme across three occupied school buildings, sequencing the most disruptive work around the academic calendar to keep Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School heated and supplied with hot water throughout. Phase 1 covers the Ormerod and Singleton plantrooms over the 2026 summer break, with Ormerod starting in mid June and Singleton in mid July, each running for around seven weeks back to back and substantially complete by early September.
Phase 2 covers the Junior Building from July 2026 into the autumn term, around 14 weeks, with critical plantroom and main pipework carried out over the summer holiday and disruptive pipe and radiator works sequenced into evenings, weekends and half term. Working hours are 07:00 to 19:00, with controlled out of hours work and temporary heating in place to ensure no loss of heat or hot water during term time.
Compliance and Safety
Detailed condition and refurbishment asbestos surveys were carried out across all three buildings ahead of works starting, confirming the condition of the existing heating systems and identifying legacy asbestos insulating board in ceilings, column casings and risers. This material is being removed by licensed contractors under controlled conditions before installation work begins, with provisional sums in place to cover any unforeseen discoveries.
Gas safety works, including relocation of the Ormerod gas meter from an unventilated classroom cupboard to a safe external enclosure and the upgrade of the Singleton meter from U25 to U65, are being carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers. New centralised stainless steel flue systems compliant with the Clean Air Act are replacing the previously At Risk Junior Building flue arrangement.
Programme and Delivery
Delivery is split into two phases to fit around the school calendar. Phase 1 covers the Ormerod and Singleton plantrooms over the summer 2026 break, each phase running for around seven weeks back to back and substantially complete by early September. Phase 2 covers the Junior Building from July 2026 into the autumn term, around 14 weeks, with critical plantroom and main pipework completed over the holiday period.
Disruptive pipe and radiator works in the Junior Building are sequenced into evenings, weekends and half term so that teaching is not affected. The programme runs under a Construction Phase Plan with Heras site segregation, separate contractor access, clear fire exits, enhanced DBS checked tradespeople, on tool dust extraction and segregated hazardous waste disposal.
Technical Scope Summary
A summary of the key systems being upgraded across the project:
This is a complex project across three live school buildings, but Vital Synergy planned the work carefully around our term dates so we have never been left without heat or hot water. Communication throughout has been excellent, and the new boilers and controls are already making a real difference to comfort across the site.
Estates and Facilities Manager, Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School
