Safe and comfortable washrooms guaranteed for college boarders

One of the UK's largest independent Catholic schools creates perfect washrooms for its students.

Prior Park College is an independent school set in a breathtaking location overlooking the World Heritage city of Bath. The College is known for its genuine all-round education and high standards of pastoral care.

The College has a vision for success that includes investment in its facilities to "create environments that inspire." This extends to its boarding houses, which cater for the almost 150 students that live at the College during the school year.

Prior Park College strives to create a comfortable 'home-from-home' family atmosphere in its boarding houses, giving its students a sense of belonging and safety.

As well as bedrooms and communal spaces, washrooms are an important part of making these houses what they are. But, as well as being great to use, they must also be safe and able to stand up to the high demands they face.

Delivering reliability

Prior Park College estates manager, Mike Crudge, says: "We've created great spaces for our pupils and want to make sure they continue to perform perfectly. In the case of our showers, this is really important because they're used by every boarding student."

To make sure this is the case, Prior Park College fitted showers that work reliably and can stand up to being used day in, day out.

Mike explains: "We chose Rada products because we've installed them before and know they're well-made. They perform well, they're reliable, but they also look great and are easy to use. Being able to guarantee our showers are working properly also means we know our students are safe using them, and there's no risk of serious incidents such as scalding."

Supporting the college's team

Prior Park College also wanted water controls that would help its estates team keep costs in check and carry out routine tasks.

Mike says: "The S.PA shower lets us control how long it runs for, helping us manage the amount of water used, which in turn controls how much we spend. Like any facility, managing running costs is important. When Rada commissioned the showers after installation they set their run time to what we need. This is a huge plus for us and as we install more of these showers our savings will mount up."

A further feature of Rada's commissioning service is that the product guarantee is upgraded from two years to five years for free, covering all part and labour costs. It ensures they are working as they should be from day one and will continue to deliver a great shower experience for students.

"The new showers also have an automated flushing system," Mike adds. "To ensure compliance with Legionella regulations and also to meet our own high standards, we flush our water system regularly so harmful bacteria can not build up.

"This automation means our staff don't have to flush these outlets manually, freeing them up to focus on other things. And it's especially useful for the summer holiday period when pupils aren't here and our showers aren't being used.

"It's still important to flush the water system regularly otherwise bacteria could develop. With automation, we can guarantee the showers will be flushed at the right time, every time, and we need only check on them periodically."

"We chose Rada products because we've installed them before and know they're well-made. They perform well, they're reliable, but they also look great and are easy to use."

Mike Crudge, Prior Park College estates manager