Wolfreton School and Sixth Form College is a large, successful secondary school that serves the Haltemprice area in Yorkshire, UK. Under the Priority Schools Building Programme, a new school was constructed to accommodate the entire school population – over 1,500 students and 200 staff – on one site. Interior acoustics were a hugely important aspect of the project design.

“The clients’ brief was to provide good-quality, Class A wall panels, which not only met the acoustic requirements but would also be aesthetically pleasing”, explains Jonathan Hope, the Commercial Director of John Atkinson Interiors.

The classrooms, atrium, and sports hall needed to be furnished with top-quality acoustic wall panels that complemented the school’s minimalist, modern aesthetic. As John Atkinson Interiors already had a good relationship with Autex, they recommended Quietspace® Panel to the building company, BAM Construct UK. The Solution“Quietspace Panel with Vertiface wrap was the obvious choice for various reasons,” said Hope, “These include the range of colours available, the ability to have bespoke sizes made to suit the spaces, the professional and proactive attitude of the Autex team and the finish and quality of the product.”

Quietspace Panel is a lightweight, durable, premium interior acoustic panel. Celebrated for excellent sound absorption, Quietspace Panel balances a range of problem frequencies – which is perfect for busy school environments where noise is often a distraction for both teachers and students.

To tie in the school's unique aesthetic, each Quietspace Panel was wrapped with Vertiface®. As the school’s colours are varying shades of vibrant blues, similar colours from the Vertiface range were employed to ensure that the school’s spirit and individuality were represented throughout each of the spaces.

The Result
One of the main challenges the designers faced was fitting the panels into the different sized spaces throughout the school. Quietspace Panel was ideal for this intricate job as it is easily cut down to fit the dimensions required for any space.

Construction Manager of BAM Construct UK, David Thomas, was so impressed with Autex’s products and services that he has recommended them to other clients. “Our experience with Autex was very positive,” he says, “We have already recommended this product to the BAM business and Autex is now being used on a number of our sites.”

The installation of Quietspace Panel dramatically reduced the reverberation in each of the spaces. “Since the school went into operation we have received numerous compliments on its acoustic properties”.