Tag: education

We’re getting work off to the right start at the University of Warwick, conducting essential enabling works as part of the largest single investment in campus facilities in its 60-year history. 

Working closely with Mace Group Ltd, we’re delivering the first phase of the 43-week project, which is expected to be completed in summer 2025. The new state-of-the-art learning and research facilities will allow the University to drive STEM innovation in the Midlands, as well as provide space for collaborative working and public engagement. 

Our JCT Design & Build contract will see us conduct vital infrastructure works to support the wider project, including the construction of building platforms, erection of retaining walls, substantial Drainage and Utility diversion works, including HV, Helium, Gas and a major dual District Heating Main as well as the provision of brand-new car parking facilities for staff and students, enhancing life on campus. 

To improve access to the new science and engineering precinct, a new s278 road junction is required, along with a new rising main and pumping station ready for handover in summer 2025.  

The new science and engineering precinct is part of the STEM Connect Programme and once finished, will be home to specialist integrated teaching facilities for the Department of Chemistry and Physics, and the School of Engineering. 

Lance Gudger, Director at O’Brien Contractors, said: “This is a hugely significant project for the University of Warwick, the Midlands as a whole, and the UK’s STEM sector. We’re extremely pleased to be involved to deliver essential enabling works. 

“We’re a close neighbour to the University and the project allows us to make an impact on the local community too, from the jobs and social value we’re creating, to the legacy we are leaving at the university. We look forward to working closely with all the partners involved to help this flagship new facility come to life.” 

We’re experts when it comes to enabling works and undertaking projects across the education sector, with major schemes of work for the University of Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon College and Solihull School, under our belts.  

Professor Mark Williams, Academic Director for the STEM Connect programme at the University of Warwick, said: “We’re extremely pleased to be working with O’Brien Contractors and huge progress has already been made on site, preparing the land for the next stage of the development. The team’s expertise and experience working within the higher education sector made them and ideal partner for the project and they are already making a positive impact.” 

Click to find out more about our civil and construction work. 

Winterfold House School, synthetic grass hockey pitch has been awarded FIH Certification.

O’Brien Contractors who are FIH Certified Field Builders recently completed the design and build for the construction of the full-size sand dressed synthetic hockey pitch as well as a spectator area, black weldmesh fencing & floodlighting. In addition to this we constructed two porous macadam tennis and netball courts with floodlighting as well as access pathways and access road.

O’Brien Sports Director, Mick O’Brien, said: “We are delighted that the Winterfold House School pitch has gained FIH certification. Our sports division has been delivering top quality hockey fields for many years now and this certification recognises the professionalism, skill and high standards that O’Brien Contractors bring to all of our projects.”

FIH Certified Field Builders are companies that specialise in building hockey fields. The companies that achieve accreditation have a proven ability to construct fields to the international standards the game requires. They have appropriate in-house civil engineering expertise for the design and construction of 11-a-side and Hockey 5s fields, operate quality management systems to ensure consistency in their work, and provide comprehensive maintenance advice to their customers.

Only a small number of firms worldwide have so far achieved FIH accreditation award.

We have  been appointed to work on Perry Beeches the Academy Trust’s fifth highly-acclaimed free school in Small Heath, Birmingham.

The delivery of a £10 million primary and secondary school facility at the former Virgin Media Office Building and adjacent industrial units will feature a 3 storey extension, sports hall, football pitch, MUGA and car parking.

Appointed by principal contractor, Morgan Sindall, we will deliver earthworks and a host of ground works – including foundations, drainage and associated works.

Morgan Sindall is a leading UK construction, infrastructure and design company and our Operations Manager, Tony Mitchell, sees the new contract as an endorsement of the services provided to them at St. Modwen’s Longbridge Town Centre Phase 2 in Birmingham: “We are delighted to be working with Morgan Sindall on this important education project in Birmingham. The past year has seen us work closely with Morgan Sindall, fully understanding their standards, philosophy and objectives and we hope Perry Beeches V will strengthen our relationship further.”

We will draw on our technical expertise, which includes state-of-the-art GPS controlled surveying equipment and machinery, to deliver groundworks services in the most efficient method possible and with minimal waste.

“Our team is well-versed at delivering high-grade education facilities in a live environment having provided civil engineering services on 9 schools as part of the Priority School Building Programme in Coventry and this experience will be pivotal in the execution of the scheme.”

Established in 1958, O’Brien Contractors is a Midlands-based provider of civil engineering, design and build and groundworks services, as well as turnkey sports pitch solutions. Receiving the prestigious five star rating for Achilles BuildingConfidence accreditation in 2014 means O’Brien sits alongside leading names in the construction sector as suppliers of excellent quality work with a commitment to growth and sustainability.

Key projects and customers include the Nestlé factory and Number One City Locks residential building both with John Sisk & Son; Longbridge Town Centre Phase 2 with Morgan Sindall; Aston Student Village for Aston University; and the Primark retail distribution centre with Sir Robert McAlpine.

Picture Caption: Perdip Mann, Secondary Headteacher, Perry Beeches V School, Caz Brasenell, Primary Headteacher, Perry Beeches V School and Tony Fitzgerald, Project Manager, Morgan Sindall.

Our sports team has joined forces with the Official Facilities Partner of England Hockey, Notts Sports, to install a new 3G synthetic turf football pitch for Christ’s College Finchley.

The project will see our sports team perform earthworks remodelling, consisting of cut and fill of the site to form a plateau level for the proposed new pitch. The works also include the installation of a sub base, dynamic layer, prefabricated shockpad, high performance NottsGrass 50 synthetic pitch, drainage, kerbs, fencing and floodlighting.

Founded in 1857, Christ’s College Finchley is an all-boys comprehensive school for pupils aged between 11 and 16.

Steve Hillman, General Manager, O’Brien Sports, said: “We are committed to investing in cutting edge surveying equipment and state-of-the-art GPS controlled dozers, so that we are able deliver the design to the precise specifications set out for the customer. This ensures we can continually improve the quality of our work and the speed of installation, saving our clients both time and money.”

The O’Brien Sports management team has over 55 years’ experience in sports pitch construction and is one of the first large civil engineering firms able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports facilities, delivering projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to rugby, football and hockey pitches.

Recent projects have included the construction of a 3G football pitch at Worthing FC, a Lano 3G synthetic pitch at Westfield Academy, a sand dressed hockey pitch at Oswestry School, two natural turf pitches for Rugby Town Junior Football Club and preparation works for the replacement of Wasps’ Ricoh Arena natural turf pitch.

According to a report published by Ofsted, outside of football, a large proportion of students, who have gone on to become the next elite athletes and tennis, rugby union and cricket players, have been nurtured on the sports fields of England’s independent schools.

41% of Team GB athletes who won a medal during the London 2012 Olympics were educated at an independent school. This is quite remarkable when you consider only 7% of school-aged pupils attend an independent school in England, compared to 86–93% of the population who are educated by a state run school.

This should come as no surprise when you consider that Independent schools have embedded competitive sports into their culture and ethos. They ensure all students participate in frequent sports activities; building confidence, self-esteem, academic excellence, character building, but also providing young people with the platform to realise their sporting goals and ambitions.

Independent schools do enjoy greater financial benefits over state schools, but now the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is investing over £1 billion in the next few years to help people get fitter and healthier through a range of programmes designed to make access to sports facilities easier for everyone.

So, with grants and funding available to schools and local authorities, this is a great opportunity to get new sports pitches and facilities in place and bring competitive sport into the fabric of the education curriculum of state schools.

It is vital that schools and local authorities make the most of this opportunity because the skills adopted during physical education and through regular participation, are essential to the early development of children and young people. It can teach them key values, including: sportsmanship, teamwork, respect, mutual understanding and honesty.

Through competition, a child’s education is a far richer experience. They enjoy competition. Competitive sport encourages children to try harder. It also provides them with the experience of winning and losing and how to deal with both emotions.

Sports Pitch Specialists!

Investing in new sports facilities has to be done right for two important reasons: firstly, so that you get the best value from your budget, and secondly, so that you receive a high standard installation ensuring students can and will use them for years to come. To do it right you need to work with the best sports pitch providers you can and O’Brien Sports, who’s management team has over 55 years’ experience in sports pitch construction, is one of the first large civil engineering firms able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports facilities.

The company delivers projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to rugby, football and hockey pitches. This capability is all maintained in house – with no outsourcing required – by a team of experts with a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications.

The sports installations that we deliver include synthetic and Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities, and natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket.

Recent projects have included the construction of a FIFA-compliant football pitch, an Olympic-standard, eight lane athletics track (complete with long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault) and a football club (complete with 11 natural turf pitches, changing facilities, entrance road and car park). All elements of these projects were handled in house and to our uncompromising standards.

Services

O’Brien Sports offers a full range of sports pitch services, including:

• Full design and build construction projects
• Synthetic and multi-use games area (MUGA) pitches
• Pitch renovations
• Natural sports pitches
• Total solutions for sports pitches
• Infrastructure, including: access roads and car parks

The total solution…from concept to construction, we design and build all Synthetic and Natural Sports Surfaces.

T: 01926 423918

E: info@obriencontractors.co.uk

Sports Management Magazine – Vol 18 issue 4 2014

As the UK obesity statistics soar, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is investing over £1 billion in the next few years to help people get fitter and healthier through a range of programmes designed to make access to sports facilities easier for everyone.

These investments are crucial in getting people more active as a report released by the Institute of Economic Affairs in August 2014 revealed that Britain’s obesity problem is more to do with lack of exercise than with eating too much, or eating the wrong things. So, with grants and funding available to schools, sports clubs, community groups and local authorities, this is a great opportunity for neighbourhoods all over the country to get new sports pitches and facilities in place and get people more active.

With the latest statistics showing that 64% of UK adults are overweight or obese, as are one in every ten children when starting primary school, it’s vital that schools and communities make the most of this opportunity.

Pitching It Right

Investing in new sports facilities has to be done right for two important reasons: firstly, so that this crucial funding is put to best use, and so that people can and will use them for years to come. To do it right you need to work with the best sports pitch providers you can and O’Brien Contractors is the first and only civil engineering firm in the UK able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports pitch installations.

The company can deliver projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to sports tracks and football pitches, tailored to meet your individual needs. O’Brien’s team of experts has a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications and all of the work is completed in-house with no outsourcing required, meaning you get better value for money and projects are always delivered on time and on budget.

The sports installations the company delivers include natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket, and synthetic and MUGA (Multi-Use-Games-Area) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities.

Recent projects that O’Brien has completed include the construction of a FIFA-compliant football pitch; an Olympic-standard athletics track complete with long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault and a 400m running track; a football club with 11 natural turf pitches, changing facilities, entrance road and car park; and a full size sand dressed synthetic grass Hockey pitch, installed upon an insitu rubber shock pad on an engineered base for Oswestry School.

“From my perspective, it was a delight to work with O’Brien Contractors and would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone. One of the reasons for choosing O’Brien was the fact that we were dealing with the top management from the start (Mick) and because you are the actual contractors rather than a middle man. The construction itself wasn’t straight forward due to a large cut and fill exercise, but the end result is spectacular and we are very pleased with the outcome. In addition, all of the subcontractors used for the specialist areas (floodlights, fencing, and pitch surface) were very reputable with no shortcuts in quality once the contract had been won. Overall, we are very pleased.”
Phil Bowd – Bursar at Oswestry School