Greatfields School
Updated: Sep 7
The final phase of the Gascoigne Estate's 10-form-entry campus, a three-form-entry primary, completing a school for 2,500 pupils.
The brief
The earlier phases of the Gascoigne campus used SIP panels and precast floors. The final phase landed after the Building Safety Act raised the bar, so it needed non-combustible insulation, sheathing and lining throughout, with fire testing tailored to each wall build-up rather than assumed from a single component. The walls also had to survive daily knocks and high pull-out loads in a busy school, and the scheme had to cut embodied carbon hard enough to clear its sustainability targets.
fermacell® in the OSKOP build-up
The final phase was built as a closed-panel system using OSKOP's tested wall build-ups, manufactured offsite by NZB and designed with McBains. fermacell® fibre gypsum board did the fire-rated lining and structural sheathing in a single layer, replacing the multiple sheathing boards and mixed materials a conventional build stacks up. Because the board is tested as part of the whole wall rather than in isolation, it carries a 60-minute fire rating to EN 13501-2 and an A2-s1,d0 non-combustible classification, verified both inside-to-out and outside-to-in. It's Severe Duty rated to BS 5234-2 for the corridors and classrooms, and holds high pull-out loads without the combustible ply pattressing a standard fix would need. Firepanel A1 gave frameless encasement to the steel posts and beams up to 120 minutes. Tested once as a system, the build-up repeats across the next school without re-engineering, which is the point OSKOP is making.
Proven on site
A 60-minute fire rating with non-combustible A2 materials throughout, exceeding the requirement in both directions, and Severe Duty walls built for a high-traffic school. The single-board solution took out layers of sheathing and cut waste, and offsite manufacture gave a faster, cleaner build.
Members on this project
fermacell® fibre gypsum board
Net Zero Panels: closed-panel manufacture
McBains: Architect
"Balancing embodied carbon reduction with Building Safety Act compliance is a real challenge with sustainable materials. fermacell®'s fire test data supported the methodology and enabled a fast, efficient build."
McBains Architects
Component supplier | OSKOP Member
fermacell® fibre gypsum board is specified across OSKOP's tested wall, floor and ceiling build-ups, providing fire-rated, non-combustible performance in a single layer.
