Sykes have been carrying out summer works packages at City of London School for Girls on an annual basis for the past five years.

The works form part of the overall master plan to modernise and upgrade both teaching and back‐of‐house areas in line with the reputation of this prestigious, private girl’s school. The school is set within the grounds of the Grade II listed Barbican Estate, as such, this building comes with many challenges in terms of both design and construction.

The most recent 2024 project was the most ambitious and challenging yet, with £3.3m of works completed over a fast‐track, 2‐month programme during the school’s summer shutdown.

Works involved stripping out the existing kitchen and canteen facilities and the adjacent robotics lab; upgrading all energy supplies; the installation of a new commercial kitchen, equipment, dishwashing facilities, servery counters and a range of fixtures, fittings and equipment (FFE); and the renewal of all services, air handing plant, extract system and ductwork whilst ensuring there was no visual impact to the roof of the school.

It is worth noting that because the upgrading of power supplies was not possible within the time frame available, the required power delivery was ultimately achieved by installing 2 energy management systems to restrict the peak loads keeping it in line with the available power. This innovative solution had the added benefit of drastically increasing energy efficiency and significantly reducing electricity costs for the school.

We would attribute much of the success of the 2024 works to the continuity of the management team, supply chain and design consultants over several years.