Kentish Town Primary School

Located just a few moment’s walk from one of Autograph’s head office in London NW5, Kentish Town CE Primary School is a contemporary educational facility for 5-11 year-olds. The school focuses on developing ‘...the whole person - socially, emotionally, creatively, physically, academically and spiritually, in an environment that is safe, calm and challenging’.

In common with many modern schools, Kentish Town have an ongoing requirement for a sound reinforcement system within their main hall. This is a multi-purpose space which consequently demands a sound system that is flexible enough to handle anything that might be required of it, yet very quick and easy to operate.

Chris designed and installed a bespoke audio system for the school, using three EM Acoustics EMS-81 loudspeakers driven by a Yamaha XP5000 amplifier, controlled from an Allen & Heath GR2 rackmounted mixer. A simple patching system allows the user to determine which loudspeakers are used, to suit the orientation of the event within the room, whilst two Sennheiser 100-series radio-microphone systems provide wire-free convenience. To reduce battery costs these use the Sennheiser L2015 recharging system which allows drop-in charging when the systems are not in use.

The audio mixer gathers incoming signals from the Sennheiser systems, an iPod and a CD player in addition to a computer input from the whiteboard, and gives the user immediate control over the output levels of the various sources.

We installed the system over a weekend to avoid disruption to the school and its pupils, completing all the engineering works in time for the new system to be used for their production of ‘Sister Act’.