Reading Girls’ School

The new Reading Girls’ School in Berkshire features Senior’s patented low U-value PURe® aluminium casement windows throughout the two three-storey high teaching blocks. In addition, thermally enhanced SF52 curtain walling was used to create the school’s main entrance area and atrium.

Daylighting was a key consideration in the school’s overall design. The main window pattern required a specific area of visible daylight to be achieved. This was accomplished using the PURe® multiframe option to accommodate opening in and opening out ventilators, negating the requirement for reverse rebate adaptors or couplers. Wastage was also reduced by using the PURe® multiframe sections, as one section can be used as the outer frame, mullion and transom.

The attractive slim profiles of both the PURe® windows and SF52 curtain walling help flood the interior of the school with natural light and contrast perfectly with the striking blue cladding panels that have been incorporated on the exterior façade to reflect the school’s official colours.

Competitively priced compared to standard aluminium windows, Senior’s innovative PURe® system benefits from an enhanced thermal barrier manufactured from expanded polyurethane foam (PUR) and was able to achieve U-values lower than required by the project team. Used alongside the SF52 curtain wall system, which has been developed to offer an enhanced thermal performance to exceeds current building regulations, Senior’s fenestration package played a key role in achieving the building’s thermal targets, improving its environmental efficiency and reducing reliance on mechanical cooling and ventilation.

Reading Girls’ School is part of a wider scheme to create seven new secondary schools across Hertfordshire.