The Philip Morant School and College in Colchester, England, is using transom door closers from Alpro Architectural Hardware. The school is a high achieving 11- 18 academy that was rated as 'outstanding' in its last Ofsted inspection.

The Alpro closers have been fitted on doors manufactured by Essex-based IDF Aluminium Ltd. Major works at the school have seen the creation of a vestibule, a 715 square-metre steel tapered trellis canopy and a new main entrance between two existing buildings using curtain walling. A space which had previously served only as a route between buildings has become an integral part of student activities. Alpro's overhead transom closers used on the school doors are a means of hydraulically controlling the opening and closing of an aluminium door. Features include dual closing speed to allow flexibility, three levels of spring strength and 90-degree hold open facility.

Builders and glaziers benefit from the ability to adjust the latching and closing force according to the weight and height of individual doors as well as type of usage. Fine-tuning to accommodate the exact needs of a pupil and staff user base is all-important in a school application. Transom closers are contained within the transom header bar of a door. They are therefore well suited to use in premises where attention is being paid to aesthetics as is the case at Colchester where the current works will see the canopy feature a screen-printed gable end fabric designed by the school's art teacher.

Philip Morant School and College is also using door handles from Alpro's Impressionist range which are manufactured from 304-grade stainless steel and are specified widely for their functionality and visual appeal, in this case complementing the school's dark green livery. Keith Parry, Sales Director at Alpro, said: "Our transom closers are designed for durability and have been tested independently at 250,000 double-action cycles. They have been used at the universities of London, Portsmouth and Liverpool, and we're pleased to have extended our work now into secondary education."