Thackley Primary School in Bradford is a busy, happy and active environment for learning, working hard to secure the highest educational standards for their pupils. At the centre of everything they do are their core aims of high standards, Skills for life and creating happy memories. However, both the staff and children were experiencing acoustic problems in the fantastic hall at the heart of their school. The large, open plan room provided a multi-use space used for assemblies, performances, PE lessons and dining but the amount of hard, reflective surfaces meant that excessive reverberation an echo made for a particularly unpleasant acoustic environment.
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Head of the School, Annette Patterson decided that something needed to be done and made contact with Sound Reduction Systems Ltd (SRS) who have a great deal of experience in treating noise problems within schools. Annette was able to send across details of the hall, including dimensions and photographs from which the technical department were able to model the space using software in order to provide an accurate specifications and quote. SRS then sent a member of staff to visit the school to take detailed measurements and discuss the various options available. SRS Director, Alex Docherty commented:
“As soon as I was shown into the hall, it was clear that the acoustic environment was not ideal – the long reverberation time made it difficult to hold a simple conversation between a few people comfortably, let alone when the hall was full with children. It was clear that a treatment using one of our Class A rated Sonata products was required to solve the issue.”
The estimated mid-frequency reverberation time was coming out at (Tmf) of 3.57s, which is far too high for a room of this nature. SRS calculated that 75sqm of their decorative Sonata panel absorbers would be required to solve the problem, bringing the reverberation time down to (Tmf) of 1.13s, and provided the school with a layout design detailing where the panels would be installed within the hall. The school chose a combination of Suspended Sonata Vario panels and bonded Sonata Aurio panels and SRS were able to despatch their installation team within 2 weeks to fit the absorbers.
Following the installation, Annette said:
“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the Acoustic Panels we had fitted. The whole process was great - from making initial contact with you, site survey, and fitting. You were always so helpful and knowledgeable when I contacted you. The wonderful man who came to fit the panels was just lovely! Really professional, friendly and had a high standard and a high quality of fitting.
The impact of the panels has been simply fantastic! What a difference!!! Lunchtimes are now completely different, assemblies are better and PE lessons are calmer. I have been recommending your company to everyone and playing them my ‘before and after’ videos that I made! Thank you again.”
If you have a noise issue in your school hall, village hall, or in any large, open area, please get in touch to see how SRS can help with soundproofing and sound absorption. You can fill in our simple 3 Step Estimator form by clicking here. The 3 Step Estimator works within your mobile device, so you can upload the pictures and information directly from site if required. Alternatively, you can just email or whatsapp us with the room dimensions and a few pictures of the ceiling and walls in the room.
Useful links:
Thackley Website: http://www.thackleyschool.com/
