St. Leonards Catholic School

Rely on Fire Check were appointed by SES Engineering Services, the appointed electrical subcontractor to BAM Construction, to provide electrotechnical life safety system design services for the new-build St Leonard’s Catholic School in Durham.

The £36 million scheme, designed by Ryder Architecture, comprises the construction of a new three-storey secondary school building in accordance with current Department for Education (DfE) requirements, replacing existing buildings affected by RAAC failure. The new facility includes general classrooms, science laboratories, design and technology workshops, an assembly hall, activity and drama studios, and sports hall spaces.

Rely on Fire Check were appointed to undertake the RIBA Stage 4 design of the Fire Detection & Fire Alarm and Emergency Voice Communication systems. Each design package included detailed design general arrangement drawings, schematic drawings, zone diagrams, loop and standby battery calculations, and the production of comprehensive System Overview documents detailing all system requirements.

Following completion of the design packages, Rely on Fire Check also supported SES Engineering Services with subcontractor profiling and selection. This included tender analysis of quotations received against the Rely on Fire Check designs, enabling SES Engineering Services to secure best-value installation and procurement pricing while ensuring full compliance with the relevant British Standards and maintaining all employer requirements for the project.

Rely on Fire Check also conducted site installation visits at first and second fix stages of the project. These visits were undertaken to review the installation against the approved design, identify and resolve any potential compliance or coordination issues at an early stage, and provide technical support to the installation team. This proactive approach assisted SES Engineering Services in maintaining programme, reducing the risk of abortive works, and ensuring the systems were delivered in line with both the design intent and project timescales.