Transforming the acoustics at Castle East's Main School Hall

Project Overview: Hyped Up Acoustics was commissioned to enhance the acoustics of the school hall at Castle East School in Bungay. This special project was of particular significance as Castle East School caters to pupils with Communication and Interaction (C&I) Needs from year 5 to year 11. The aim was to create a more conducive environment for learning and communication while also providing a versatile space for events and venue hire to augment the school's revenue streams.

The main hall is also a multi use space used for school dinners and at break time. The noise levels when the hall is occupied increases significantly due to the reflective nature of the building finish. Hard wooden floors a bare flat ceiling and reflective walls all contributed to a very echoey space.

Challenge: Castle East School's hall presented significant acoustic challenges, with a reverberation time peaking at 4 seconds. This posed difficulties for students with special needs, impacting speech intelligibility and overall usability of the space for various activities.

A number of children have resorted to wearing ear defenders whilst using the main hall to reduce the irritation that the poor acoustics causes them.

Solution: Hyped Up Acoustics proposed a comprehensive solution to address the acoustical issues while ensuring cost-effectiveness for the school. The plan involved the installation of acoustic panels on the ceiling and impact protection panels on the walls.

We proposed our Melaflex Evo acoustic foam panels for the ceiling. Due to the heigh of the ceiling and the light sports use these didn't have to be wrapped in fabric reducing the cost of covering the required area.

For the walls we recommended our Signature acoustic panels made from a class 0 foam core wrapped in a fabric that would protect the panels from any sports impact.

These panels were strategically placed to reduce the reverberation time to just over 1.1 seconds, significantly improving speech intelligibility and enhancing the overall usability of the hall.

Implementation: The installation was carried out over the school holidays  to ensure minimal disruption to the school's activities. Hyped Up Acoustics worked closely with the school administration to schedule installations and work around existing work taking place in and around the school hall. The team adhered to strict safety protocols and completed the project within the agreed timeline.

Results: The results of the project were remarkable. The installation of acoustic panels led to a substantial reduction in reverberation time, greatly enhancing speech intelligibility in the hall. This improvement has created a more inclusive learning environment for students with special needs, which will allow them to engage more effectively whilst using the main hall. Additionally, the enhanced acoustics made the space more attractive for venue hire, providing a much needed additional revenue stream for the school.

Click here to hear the amazing transformation achieved with the acoustics in this space !

Conclusion: The successful completion of the project demonstrated Hyped Up Acoustics' expertise in addressing complex acoustical challenges in educational settings. By enhancing the acoustics of Castle East School's hall, the project not only improved the learning environment for students with special needs but also provided a valuable asset for the school's community.

Hyped Up Acoustics is proud to have been a part of this transformative journey and looks forward to continuing to support educational institutions in creating optimal learning environments.