Schooldays are said to be the best days of your life – Arch Timber Protection is ensuring that they are also the safest, using its DRICON fire retardant treatment to protect internal timber at Passmores School and Technology College, Harlow, Essex, UK.

In September 2011, the students move into the new Passmores Academy at Tracyes Road, Harlow, which was designed in collaboration with the school staff to meet the needs of the staff and students. This purpose-built site includes environmentally-friendly building materials, such as internal natural wood linings.

Arch used a DRICON Euroclass B fire treatment to protect around 10,000 linear metres of FSC-certified European oak cladding supplied by national timber merchant Arnold Laver Timber World, which was installed by joiners and carpenters M&S Contractors, who used the oak internal wood cladding for the largest internal cladding aspect of the project.

Arnold Laver Timber World branch sales representative, Richard Claridge says: "We have a long relationship with Arch, and we always recommend them when we offer fire retardant treated timber. This is because we want to use a company we know and trust, who can work alongside us to provide an individually tailored service to suit the project in hand, and who can provide documentation to prove that the treatment will be suitable. We were proud to work with Arch Timber Protection and M&S Contractors on such a high calibre and unique project, and we are confident that we have supplied some of the best materials available on the market."

Western Red Cedar cladding supplied by International Timber was also used to create the effective external sign on the building. These timbers had a NON-COM exterior fire retardant treatment from Arch.

Arch Timber Protection fire retardant sales manager, Jacqui Hughes says: "It’s important to protect our young people and the buildings where they study, and we are delighted to be involved in this stunning new academy project. The combination of our proven DRICON and NON-COM exterior fire retardant treatments will provide a long term protection for years to come, whilst allowing the natural beauty of the timbers to shine through."