Background

Coventry City Council is expanding Stoke Park Secondary School to increase capacity and enhance facilities. The development – designed by Rivington Street Studio – includes a new building linked to the existing Youth Centre to house Year 7 classrooms, a drama studio, offices, support spaces, new external play areas, and associated parking. The vision is to deliver high quality learning environments while maintaining community use of existing facilities.

The Challenge

Schools are acoustically complex. Learning spaces, performance areas, and external play zones must meet suitable standards for internal ambient noise levels, reverberation time, and sound insulation. Outdoor facilities – especially the proposed MUGA (MultiUse Games Area) – had to be assessed carefully to manage potential noise for nearby receptors. Beyond acoustics, the project needed planning stage assurance on air quality, both construction and operational, in the context of local emissions and sensitive users (students and staff).

Key constraints included:

Delivering BB93 compliance across varied spaces (classrooms, drama studio, circulation, and support areas);
Connecting new and existing buildings without compromising sound insulation across partitions and façades;
Predicting and mitigating MUGA noise to protect neighbouring properties;
Demonstrating that air quality objectives would be achieved, with appropriate mitigation if required.

What We Did