Focus were chosen to work on the renovation and upgrading of the security systems at Calderstones high school by Jarvis Construction. Primarily this was because of ou proven track record in managing large integrated systems projects and because of ourexpertise in designing and fitting systems to special projects and listed buildings, wheredue consideration must be given to the aesthetics of the building and the system designed to perform effectively whilst being as unobtrusive as possible.

This was a very challenging project. The Calderstones site is a cluster of 19 separatebuildings covering an area of some 18 acres. Four of the building are grade 1 listed and the school itself is steeped in history and boasts several famous pupils, including a young man, who became a famous musician with a local band. His name? John Lennon.

The brief was to design and install a 21st century security solution capable of preventing intrusion and giving the earliest possible warning of fire, either by day or night, and ensuring staff and pupil’s safety without hindering their use of the facilities. The system also had to meet stringent performance and quality targets as well as being passed by the conservation officer. The final design was also to include networking of all systems back to one central control room and allow for remote monitoring of the intruder alarm, fire alarm and CCTV.

The intruder alarm solution was to fit independent Galaxy controlled systems to each building, as we deemed that on a site of this size to have one all encompassing alarm would make it logistically difficult to operate, as parts of the school would need to be open at different times, and may also lead to loss of police response as such a large system would be more likely to generate false alarm signals. Each of these is linked to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) who call key holding security guards and/or police when signals are received. Again as some of the buildings are listed, every attempt was made to hide wires and locate PIR detectors inconspicuously. Further attention to detail was paid to the outsides of the building where our usually yellow and blue bell boxes were resprayed to blend in with the décor.

The fire alarm design followed a very similar thought process and an individual system was installed to each building. Due to the size and complexity of the site we fitted addressable Apollo XP equipment which allowed for greater detail to be included for the exact location of any activation, critical in containing any fire. This detection was attached to Advanced addressable fire alarm panels in each building and these were linked together with a master control panel in the control room, to quickly identify the location of any fire and evacuate a larger area if required. The fire alarms were also linked with the access control system to prevent egress through the fire exit doors. These were secured with magnetic locks which automatically release if the fire alarm in that building activates.

The CCTV system presented quite complex problems. Some of the cameras are 400 meters from the control room and all external. The normal solution would be to fit a colour/mono camera in a standard housing together with an infra red light, for night time visibility. As these are valuable items we would usually place these in a large metal cage to prevent theft. This was absolutely unacceptable to the conservation officer who asked for an alternative solution. The council’s representative was unwilling to have any cages located on the buildings or allow the fitting of the cumbersome and aesthetically challenged infra red light units. They also asked could we source a more discrete housing for the cameras. After a fairly extensive search we managed to source a camera able to meet these requirements. Secure enough to be bolted to the building without a cage, vandal resistant, working down to 0.03 LUX units and small enough to pass the critical eye of the conservation officer. The beast in question is the silent witness a high specification camera used extensively in banks and supermarkets. The silent witness comes in grey only and again these were resprayed to match the colour of the building and conceal them even further.

The site has a total of 22 external cameras and over 7 kilometres of cabling in ducts around the site. For the security of the site the recording 24/7 and archiving of these was considered critical. With this enormous amount of data being stored the need for a fast search facility was apparent we therefore chose to install a Dowshu windows based DVR with integral DVD writer and 1 Terabyte of storage space. This unit allows, via a mouse and keyboard interface, the ability to search for movement in any picture with just a few clicks and being windows based allows the unit to be password protected, ensuring that only authorised people can review data, in compliance with the Data Protection Act.

The access control system was another feat of engineering. The school needed to be able to secure every external door during lesson times but allow pupils and teachers access through entrances unhindered and to release all doors in the event of a fire alarm activation in the individual building. We designed and installed a system to control the 34 entrances across Calderstones and interfaced it with the fire alarm panels. Each door had a discrete vandal resistant proximity reader positioned alongside it and the doors were secured in various ways, depending on there location and any special interest. Predominantly 600lb force magnetic locks were used but on some of the listed buildings a more discrete, but equally secure, solution was needed. With the help of specialist locksmiths we incorporated solenoid locks into several door frames. These locks are completely invisible when the door is closed. Each of the 1400 pupils and staff have been issued with a unique proximity fob giving them access through certain doors at certain times. These fobs are identifiable and each time a person presents their fob to a door the controlling PC, back in the central control room, records who entered or attempted to enter and the time of this action. Certain buildings, for example the swimming baths, where pupils would only need enter for their lesson weekly are controlled so that the pupils fobs will only operate the door immediately before and during their scheduled lesson.

An unanticipated benefit which his system has brought is that is has proven remarkably working with Jarvis Construction on Calderstones was a taxing, but enormously effective at improving both attendance and timekeeping amongst pupils.

Working with Jarvis Construction on Calderstones was a taxing, but enormously rewarding venture for those involved. Completing the installation one building at a time over an 18 month period and dong so within budget and on time.  The reasons why Focus fire & security are able to provide such a thorough and professional installation service are down to how we approach each project.

• Firstly, a project manager is appointed for any major works and this person becomes the liaison with the client and the site to ensure any problems are identified and resolved as early as possible. This person will have a personal knowledge of the site and a sound technical knowledge of the installation.
  

• Secondly, Focus has the capacity to dedicate a specific team of engineers to the job, from start to finish. This continuity ensures an excellent standard of installation and a good working relationship with site agents.From our engineering force a team will be selected by matching their skills with the particular requirements of the job. All Focus engineers are time served craftsmen and specialists in their chosen field.

• Thirdly, our SSAIB membership and commitment to ISO 9001 quality management systems, mean you can be sure of receiving a level of service second to none, with 24 hour call out for emergency’s and a guaranteed 4 hour response time Focus are truly a industry leader.

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Calderstones High School

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