Why modular buildings are great for education

3 min read | Matt Goff | March 2018

We’re part of a wider collaboration of businesses. One of our sister businesses is an industry leader in portable and modular building solutions.

Thurston’s Building Systems provides high-quality modular and portable buildings for use in every industry and is designed to meet a wide variety of requirements.

See why modular buildings are great for expanding schools from one of the experts over at Thurston’s Building Systems.

Schools are over-crowded and underfunded and it’s evident that things need to change. Expanding schools is the first step to solving overcrowding issues, helping students improve performance. With tight budgets, expanding schools isn’t as easy as it sounds. Traditional expansions don’t come cheap or quickly. How can the Education sector solve these issues? Modular can be a solution but the uptake is slow despite numerous benefits.

Quick construction

Construction at schools can be disruptive. One of the biggest issues when completing any construction at schools is finding time to do it. It’s important to make sure that children are safe, especially young school children who might want to see what’s going on. It can take months and a lot of money if you can only work on weekends or school holidays.

Modular is up to 50% quicker than traditional methods. Buildings are also completed offsite and then installed once 90% complete, minimising disruption for the school. This saves money and improves efficiency.

Cheaper

The cost of construction isn’t something that education providers can afford. Staff wages and necessary equipment are generally top of the list of things to spend money on. But the best thing about modular buildings is that they’re much more affordable to build and maintain. This means that education suppliers with small budgets can tackle overcrowding with a modular expansion.

Adaptable

One of the best characteristics of modular buildings is flexibility. Our buildings come in a variety of layouts, shapes and sizes and can be tailored specifically to the clients’ needs. It’s very easy to modify a building once installed whether you need it smaller or bigger. If you have a particularly big class, it’s very simple to expand a modular building. Similarly, if you have a particularly small class, it’s simple enough to make it smaller.

Off-site manufactured modular and relocatable cabins offer companies a flexible, efficient solution for boosting eco-credentials, as they can be readily adapted with sustainable features that enhance energy efficiency.


Thurston Group continues to prioritise sustainability, working towards our goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Our 2023 Carbon Footprint Report, developed in partnership with Carbon.Climate.Certified, provides a detailed analysis of our environmental impact across three facilities in Wakefield, Catfoss, and Hull.