Stainless steel worktops, cabinets and sanitaryware from GEC Anderson are playing an important role in education, providing top quality facilities to support the learning process. At a North London primary school, GEC Anderson products, installed as part of a major renovation programme, give each classroom a practical, durable and attractive solution for dealing with art and other wet learning needs.
Fitzjohn’s Primary School, Hampstead, has fitted GEC Anderson sinktops and worktops in each of its classrooms, as well as in the main kitchen, laundry room and staff room, where the ability to maintain hygienic conditions easily is also an important consideration.
Typically, the installations consist of worktops up to 3.2m in length, with integral stainless steel sinks and water retaining edges all round to contain spillages and to facilitate cleaning. The worktops are mounted on matching wall hung stainless steel base cabinets which offer practical, easy-to-maintain storage. Stainless steel drinking fountains, from GEC Anderson’s sanitaryware range, have been installed at key locations.
Headteacher Rob Earrey says the GEC Anderson products were architect-specified as part of the school’s five-year refurbishment programme. “We needed something that would meet the challenges of a primary school environment,” he says. “Our architects recommended this solution because it offers the functionality that we want. It’s strong, long-lasting and has great visual impact too.”
GEC Anderson managing director Martin Tye says the Fitzjohn’s installation is typical of a trend among educational institutions. “With the government’s focus on improving education, both public and private funded schools and colleges are investing in better facilities,” he says. “Specifiers are well aware that investing in quality stainless steel products as part of a school’s infrastructure represents excellent value for money. As a result, we are supplying a growing list of school building and refurbishment projects.”
Fitzjohn’s Primary School’s eclectic mix of buildings ranges from 150-year-old Victorian to contemporary, with external finishes including Portland stone, London brick and cedar panelling. The school accommodates 236 children, with 30 in each of the reception, two infant and four junior classes and 26 in the recently opened nursery unit.