Academic Excellence

A new £20M state-of-the-art ‘Super School’ has been equipped with C-TEC’s Quantec addressable call system, SigTEL disabled refuge system and an extensive range of induction loop amplifiers for the hard of hearing.

Specialist electrical company, Solid State, stepped up to the challenge of installing the essential life-safety equipment on behalf of H&C Moore Limited at the new Abraham Guest High Pathfinder School in Wigan, Greater Manchester.

As the first of four new ‘super schools’ planned for the borough, the centre of educational excellence has full amenities for the disabled. A C-TEC Quantec addressable call system has been installed to provide the thirteen disabled washrooms in the school with alarm facilities.

Each washroom is equipped with a call/reset button, pull cord with red triangles inside and an over door indicator light outside the room to indicate if a pupil is in distress.

A number of C-TEC induction loop amplifiers have also been installed in the building to allow children with hearing aids to participate fully in classroom activities and study.

One of C-TEC’s fully BS5839 part 9 compliant SigTEL disabled refuge systems is located in the main foyer and is connected to 12 stainless steel hands free outstations situated in the refuge areas around the building. In the event of an emergency, the system will facilitate effective two-way communication between building management and people located in the refuge areas to, firstly, assist rescue teams in determining where assistance is required and, secondly, to reassure people help is on the way.

Said Mark Suffolk, Installation Manager at Solid State: “It is always exciting to work on complete new-builds as it means new equipment can be installed throughout. We tend to use C-TEC products as they are not only manufactured in the UK, but are also easy-to-install and very cost-effective”.

One of SigNET’s powerful Integrity 8-zone VA/PA systems has also been installed at the site. In the event of an emergency, the system will evacuate the entire school. However, one of its most important end user features is its use for day-to-day paging and music distribution. Soft music is continually played in specific areas of the school, for example, in the corridors.

Said Paul Gallagher, the engineer who oversaw the installation of the voice alarm: “The paging console is
situated in reception so live and recorded announcements can be made when required. We also installed a bell at the front of the school which automatically pages the caretaker if the call is made out
of hours”.

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