Part of the Government's on going initiative 'Building Schools for The Future' (BSF), this brand new £15 million landmark building for the Durham area has been created to provide a focal point for both pupils and the surrounding community, housing state-of-the-art science and technology classrooms, nursery, sports hall, 440 seat auditorium and public cyber café & library.

Within the scope of the new BSF initiative demanding regulations have been enforced to ensure the end result is the most practical and effective result. Building Bulletin 93, previously BB87, provides guidelines required to meet specifications for acoustic conditions within school environments – classrooms, music rooms, corridors, assembly halls, language labs etc.. When spending £15 million of Government money (and considering, of course, that education is all about communication) it is important to provide facilities which not only deliver the best technology and teaching aids, but also deliver an environment in which communication is most effective.

Having specified over 3500m² of Dune and Fine Fissured Armstrong ceiling panels throughout the building for passive acoustic control, the design team required an audio system that would provide active acoustic control and also integrate with the core modern design of clean, contemporary lines. Furthermore, the College's language laboratories needed the highest levels of intelligibility. i-ceilings easily met both these criteria, exactly matching the Armstrong ceiling tiles for an 'invisible' loudspeaker solution, while the NXT technology utilised ensured high quality voice reproduction.