Durham Sixth Form Centre is a diverse and vibrant college community with an intake of over 1800 students from over sixty different secondary schools across County Durham and beyond
Originally known as Durham County Girls’ School, the building was designed by W. Rushworth in 1913 to accommodate 248 girls. It was constructed in a classic Neo-Georgian style for the princely sum of £16,250.
In 1969 the girls’ school became co-educational, and then a sixth-form college in 1984. Over time, new teaching blocks were added, including a recent state-of-the-art multimedia facility, but the original building remains very much in use as a characterful reminder of the college’s heritage.
Preserving the past
The old school was constructed from red engineering brick with decorative detailing, a steeply pitched slate roof, large sash windows and two four-storey hexagonal staircase towers, which give the front elevation a distinctive Neo-Georgian character.
Over the years the original single-glazed white-painted box sash windows had degraded resulting in significant heat loss. The more recent aluminium casement windows to the rear also needed replacing.
As the building was a non-designated heritage asset, planning conditions required that any repair or replacement work required materials that were sympathetic to the surrounding conservation area.
The contractor, McCarrick Construction Ltd, specified approximately 350 made-to-measure hardwood casement windows in a white finish from Allan Brothers who also made special circular windows for the roof.
Why Allan Brothers?
Tim Bishop, commercial director at McCarrick Construction commented, “As we had used Allan Brothers’ products in the past, we were confident that the quality of the joinery would suit the age of the building and give a consistent aesthetic.
“We wanted the windows to look as close as possible to the style of the originals whilst providing modern levels of energy efficiency and low maintenance, which Allan Brothers delivered within the required timescales.”
The longevity of the traditional timber replacement windows is expected to provide a sustainable solution for many years to come.