Meet Farren Angrave, S2e Senior Building Surveyor
Farren has been immersed in building surveying for the past ten years. In 2015 he undertook a Masters in Building Surveying, working part time for a large firm of building surveyors in Birmingham. He then moved to Leicester and spent nearly seven years with a professional services company, getting a taste of project work but not having as many opportunities to do so as he wanted. A stroke of luck brought him to S2e. “I was delivering some documents to a client and spotted S2e’s sign, two doors down,” he says. “I did some research, got in touch and was delighted to find that project work is 99% of what S2e does. Just what I was looking for!”
Role at S2e
Farren joined S2e in June 2024 as a Senior Building Surveyor. A typical week might see him working on an £80,000 classroom refurbishment or a £5 million project to demolish and reconstruct an entire school building. For ongoing projects he will be attending site meetings. This could be to discuss progress with the contractor and client – from updates on costs to tackling challenges posed by unexpected problems – or for valuation meetings to ensure contractors have completed their scheduled work and can be paid.
For projects in the pipeline he goes to design team meetings with school leaders, Trust representatives, architects and M&E experts. They decide how to resolve any design questions, discuss risks, plan how to tender the project and calculate how to sequence the works.
Happy schools, happy pupils
Farren loves working on projects that will bring game-changing benefits to schools and their pupils. “I’ve worked on one project that included a safe space for Special Educational Needs pupils, and I’m currently working on a secondary school transformation where a 1950s building has been condemned and needs to be replaced. It covers a dining hall, an assembly hall, dance studio space and a mezzanine with a gym suite. We are demolishing it and will probably erect a steel frame structure instead. The benefits are going to be immense. The students will be so happy to get their dance and gym spaces back, and the school is currently struggling with temporary dining accommodation that is privately owned. Having the new building will be brilliant.”
What Farren enjoys most about his job is seeing projects through from conception to completion—working closely with architects, supervising construction, and finally celebrating practical completion.
“Seeing something go from paper to real life in 3D,” he says.
With many S2e clients being long-standing partners, he often returns to school sites to witness first-hand how pupils and staff are benefiting from their new spaces.
“We might have completed a refurbishment last year and then return to do a roof this summer. Going back to the same school means we get lots of positive feedback, which is great.”
Looking ahead
Farren is keen to expand his knowledge on two fronts: understanding more about capital expenditure in the education sector and getting involved in modular builds, a cost-effective and sustainable system where construction takes place off-site then the new structure is delivered to the school location and craned into place. “S2e is an exciting place to be,” he says.
About Surveyors to Education (S2e)
Surveyors to Education (S2e) work solely in the education sector to provide estate strategy, funding and surveying expertise to MATs and academies, giving trustees the information they need for making effective decisions. For more information on sustainability and how we can help you develop the optimum learning environment for your pupils, contact us today to find out more at 0116 5070130 or email enquire@s2e.org.uk.
