City of Lincoln Academy

CATERING FOR STUDENTS OF ALL AGEScity of lincoln priory

A modular approach to kitchen design has enabled what is believed to be the largest academy scheme in the country to cater for all its student needs….

The £9.5m Priory City of Lincoln Academy is the first phase of the Priory Federation of Academies, merging five schools in Lincolnshire into three academies. Main contractor Balfour Beatty enlisted the expertise of commercial kitchen specialist CHR Equipment to handle the design and installation of the new kitchens at Priory City of Lincoln.

 

“Priory City of Lincoln is one of the largest and most complex briefs for a school catering facility we have encountered, explains CHR Equipment Sales Director Paul Neville. “Not only were the kitchens to deliver hot and cold meals, snacks and refreshments for the 1100+ pupils aged between 11 and 18, but they also had to provide a suitable learning platform for the students.

“Adding further dimensions to the scheme, one central, energy efficient production kitchen was preferred although the main academy and sixth form dining areas were separate and across two storeys, it had to be able to quickly and efficiently cater for menu changes, and the training kitchen had to be suitable for use by pupils as young as 14, up to 18 year-olds.”

CHR used its 20+years’ knowledge and experience of modern build techniques and catering technology to meet the brief. As a result, the central production kitchen is modular in its design and build, which reduced capital costs and still gives the school flexibility in its menus.

Induction cooking- where heat is generated directly in the cooking vessel- has been introduced, as have combination ovens- technologies new to the Academy’s school catering team, but which deliver reduced energy consumption and running costs.

The refrigeration units are all hydro-carbon, which are more ‘green’ than conventional chillers and yield an average 30% reduction in energy usage. Servery counters have been made to measure, and purpose-designed to hold hot and cold and pre-packed foods in perfect condition until required. Dishwashers have been chosen for their flexibility to accommodate small and full washes, optimising energy efficiency and reducing running costs.

The training kitchen had to enable up to 24 students to move and work in an environment as similar as possible to a commercial kitchen, yet not intimidate younger children.

Neil Sampson, Balfour Beatty senior quantity surveyor on the Lincolnshire contract comments, “We have worked with CHR Equipment in the past; with the fast-track nature of the Lincolnshire contract, we needed someone who understood our ethos, would work in partnership with us, and deliver the quality, on time and in budget.”

Balfour Beatty has already commissioned CHR to further design and install the kitchens in the other two academies in the scheme- Witham Academy and Priory Lincoln School of Science & Technology (LSST).