Sixth Form Common Room & Café Refurb, Bedford Girls’ School

Project Overview

Refurbishment of the Sixth Form Common Room and Café

The spaces were converted back in 2005 and were in need of a refresh as the common room had slowly developed into an uninspiring corridor.  The area itself felt dark with a miss match of furniture and fittings, and little connection to the inner garden courtyard. The café was underutilised due to a lack of cooking facilities, with students preferring to use local shops for lunch.  We developed the brief with the school with these key design drivers in mind.

Project Address:

Cardington Road, Bedford

Project Value:

We had a strict project limit of £550,000 including fees, planning costs, equipment, furniture, building works and VAT

Contract Duration:

6 weeks

Key Facts:

The post-pandemic economy was a serious consideration on this scheme, and the team had concerns about furniture and equipment availability, along with contractor interest and availability. Therefore, we brought in specialist furniture and catering advisors and recommended early contractor involvement from October 2021.  We also advised on placing orders for the furniture, café servery, equipment and bifold doors at the earliest opportunity. The sector demanded negotiation, and the school managed to gain agreement from the charity board. Securing this flexibility was a key decision in the successful delivery of this scheme.

A short delivery programme is always a key consideration on school projects, so we arranged for the asbestos, structural and services inspections during the half-term break.

One of the most important aspects was that the project cost was immovable on this scheme and therefore our estimating, contractor negotiation and post-contract cost control had to be accurate. Due to our team’s efforts, the project came in just under budget and, most importantly, met the client’s brief fully.

“I like working with professionals like Goodrich Consulting.  The project was very well managed.” 

Jean-Marc Hodgkin, Bursar