The Charter School

• Client: ISG
• Sector: Education
• Services: Firestopping & Commercial Decorating
• Region: Bermondsey
• Size: 100,000+ sq. ft
• Project Value: £25 million+

Project Overview

The Charter School Bermondsey, and the site it stands on, has a history in providing exceptional educational opportunities to children in this corner of south-east London.  

The latest chapter in that history began in January 2024 when the school moved into new state-of-the-art premises. 

Sentinel was heavily involved in the creation of the school’s new building. As London’s favourite specialist decorating and fire protection subcontractor, we are always pleased to be involved in the development of facilities that support the next generation of the capital’s inhabitants.  

We were asked by the main contractor, ISG, to deliver all the commercial decorating works at the new school building, and to install effective passive fire protection.  

Our successful accomplishment of that task meant we had contributed to the creation of an inspiring learning environment.  

The Charter School Bermondsey stands on the location of Keeton’s Road School, which introduced a new style of curriculum when it opened in 1878. That school was forced to close after it took a direct hit during the early days of the London Blitz in 1940.  

Now the site is home to a mixed secondary school attended by 600 pupils that aspires to continue the rich educational heritage of the location, which forms the new home for the existing Compass School Southwark.  

The Charter School Bermondsey’s core values – aspiration, integrity, exploration and resilience – were echoed in the work that brought the new establishment to fruition.  

To that list could be added innovation, as Sentinel worked alongside developers using new techniques that delivered an outstanding facility where pupils can thrive.  

Project Brief

ISG, the main contractor on the project, used new Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) methods to deliver on its brief of creating an inspiring learning environment. 

These techniques, which have been welcomed by the Department for Education (DfE), embrace a standard component design approach. 

Using replicated standard components in features such as the structure and the roof, ISG set out to create a consistently high standard of product, as well as timely delivery. 

The DfE has adopted the concept of offsite manufacturing and construction on new-build projects. That results in a repeatable and cost-effective construction process.   

Among the new facilities delivered at the site were science laboratories, outstanding new arts facilities and a rooftop multi-use games area.  

Zoe Price, COO for ISG’s UK Construction arm, said: “ISG is proud to be a part of such an innovative and forward-looking approach. By harnessing new and revolutionary DfMA elements, contractors, consultants and supply chain participants can align operations.” 

Sentinel can only echo such sentiments, after working seamlessly alongside other contractors to deliver our passive fire protection and commercial decorating services to the new structure.  

Challenges / Solution

Sentinel is a specialist decorating contractor with extensive expertise. We also deliver built-in fire protection solutions from the industry’s leading practitioners. As a result, the task before us at the Charter School Bermondsey was well within the capabilities of our commercial decorating and firestopping teams.  

All the commercial decorating work at the new building was carried out by us. We were also responsible for the passive fire protection system in place on the structural steelwork.  

For this task, we applied intumescent paint, which offers impressive firestopping capabilities. Under intense heat, such paint expands to many times its original thickness. This new layer offers a high level of fire resistance, which offers protection to people inside the facility. It is a popular option for many projects where passive fire protection is required in public areas.   

The Result

The result of the work we carried out in south-east London was an impressive new home for the Compass School Southwark, now known as the Charter School Bermondsey.  

As well as seeking to offer an inspiring educational experience for several hundred local children, the site is also at the heart of a community that is being steadily revamped.  

The new site offers purpose-built, modern classrooms that are equipped with the latest technology, including science and computer labs. There are extensive sports facilities and a well-stocked library.  

Sentinel is the UK’s preferred specialist decorating contractor, so we were comfortable with the requirement to work closely with teams utilising the latest DfMA techniques espoused by the DfE.  

Installing top quality passive fire protection is incredibly important in any large building where young people gather, so our firestopping expertise was extremely valuable here. So was our excellence in commercial decorating, which contributed to what the school describes as “an inspiring learning environment”.