N&G Groundworks were appointed as the nominated groundworks subcontractor for Taunton School’s new boarding facility in Somerset, working in partnership with CG Fry and Sons.
The project involved a broad groundworks package on a live education site, where safe access, clear sequencing and careful coordination are central to delivery.
The works included a temporary entrance, haul road, reduced-level excavation, foundations, substructures, drainage, pond attenuation, off-site foul sewer attenuation, service diversions, and external landscaping finishes. The project is a great example of N&G’s experience delivering groundworks services in Somerset within sensitive, active environments.
Creating safe construction access
A temporary entrance and haul road for controlled movement
On a live school site, construction access needs to be planned before major groundworks can begin. At Taunton School, N&G formed a new temporary entrance off Greenway Road and constructed a haul road to support the movement of trades, machinery and deliveries during the project.
Early infrastructure works help separate construction activity from the school's day-to-day operations. It also gives the wider project team a controlled route into the site, reducing disruption and supporting safer movement throughout the construction period.
Preparing the site for the new facility
Reduced-level excavation on challenging ground
The site required careful preparation before the main building works could progress. N&G’s team carried out reduced-level excavation to create the formation needed for the new boarding facility, working with the ground conditions and project design to prepare the site for the next stages.
With unstable ground listed as a key project detail, accurate excavation and sequencing were especially important. The team needed to manage levels, working areas and plant movements carefully so the site could be shaped safely and prepared for foundations, sub-structures and drainage installation.
Delivering foundations and sub-structures
Building the base for the new boarding accommodation
Following excavation, N&G excavated and poured concrete as part of the foundation works for the new facility. Foundation construction plays a critical role in supporting long-term structural performance, particularly where the ground requires careful preparation.
The team also undertook the sub-structure block and brickwork up to DPC level. This stage helps set the alignment, tolerances and base conditions for the building above. In an educational project in a live environment, tidy sequencing and reliable handovers between activities help maintain steady progress and reduce avoidable disruption.
Installing drainage across the site
Internal, site-wide and attenuation systems
The Taunton School project included a comprehensive drainage package, covering internal drainage, site-wide drainage, pond attenuation and off-site foul sewer attenuation. This gives the development the water management infrastructure needed to support the new boarding facility and surrounding external areas.
N&G’s experience in foul & surface water drainage helps ensure these systems are coordinated with levels, access routes, foundations and service routes. Planning drainage as part of the wider groundworks package also helps avoid clashes during construction and supports reliable performance once the building is in use.
Managing foul sewer attenuation
Planning connections beyond the immediate build area
Off-site foul sewer attenuation formed part of the drainage scope for Taunton School, adding another layer of coordination to the project. Works of this kind require careful planning for routes, levels, approvals, access, and sequencing, particularly when the project is within an active educational setting.
N&G’s capability in sewer requisitions – Wessex Water approved work supports this type of delivery, where compliance and coordination are essential. The aim is to create a drainage solution that serves the new facility while fitting safely and practically into the wider site infrastructure.
Coordinating services and final external works
Service diversions and landscaping finishes
The remaining works included the diversion of essential services and the final stages of external landscaping finishes. Utility diversions need safe working methods, accurate service identification and good coordination with providers so the programme can keep moving.
The external areas also required careful finishing so access routes, levels, drainage and surfaces work together once the facility is complete. N&G’s experience in asphalt surfacing & external finishings supports the handover stage, helping create practical external spaces suited to everyday school use.
Supporting live education projects
The Taunton School boarding facility highlights the planning required when delivering groundworks in a live, sensitive site environment. Access, excavation, foundations, drainage, services and finishes all need to be coordinated around the wider operation of the school and the main construction programme.
For education estates teams, main contractors and project managers, appointing an experienced groundworks contractor can bring clarity at the earliest stages of delivery. N&G supports groundworks projects across Somerset, Dorset and Devon with practical site management, safe sequencing and a broad range of groundworks disciplines under one package.
Talk to us about your groundworks project in education settings
Posted on June 29th 2026
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