20
views site lines Andrew Tang
Andrew Tang of Pellings spells out the design lessons for secondary schools as they expand to meet the intake ‘bulge.’
Take a campus-wide approach
St Mary Magdalene School, Woolwich – a £7.6m new build primary school re-built on the site of the original Victorian school. The Voluntary Aided St Mary Magdalene C of E School in the Diocese of Southwark increased in size from 1FE to 2FE through the use of a robust design methodology that incorporates ‘playdecks’, providing external playspace on four levels of the building
Having worked for the past 10 years, largely in the primary education sector, I have been involved with a number of projects directly related to the so-called population ‘bulge’ the UK is undergo- ing. We have now seen this issue migrate gradually to secondary education and frequently find ourselves asking: how we can draw on our experience from primary and transfer the knowledge to the secondary sector? In theory, forecasting secondary
school place requirements should be fairly straightforward. Primaries have been dealing with an increase in pupil intake for several years – made up of both the bulge (a consequence of an increase in birth rate since 2012) and longer-term growth in school age populations, partic- ularly in London and the South East, which is also driving housing demand. It is very likely that the vast majority
of the (up to) additional 300,000 second- ary school places will be found through expansion of existing schools, as has been the case with primaries. Finding land and
www.architectsdatafile.co.uk
achieving consent for new schools in the areas of need is extremely tough, as many academies have discovered. In addition, the relatively short timescales mean that there is little choice beyond building within the curtilage of existing schools. In my experience, there are six key
lessons to be learned from managing the demand for primary places:
Early engagement reaps rewards
Successful school expansion projects start long before an architect is appointed. Key stakeholders need to be identified and engaged with before the project enters design stage. Parents and teachers generally don't react well to having expansions imposed on them, no matter how pressing the requirement. However, this does not mean that objections cannot be overcome or at least minimised, and architects are experts in using a whole range of techniques to listen and communicate.
Many school campuses have developed piecemeal and a review of existing accommodation, followed by what can often be fairly straightforward remodel- ling, can increase the efficiency of the school and thereby improve curriculum delivery. The value of this pragmatic approach should not be underestimated, as an efficient use of existing space reduces the need for new construction and can deliver a higher quality environ- ment within finite budgets. The assessment of external space is equally important and together with an understanding of how pupils use these spaces, is critical to providing flexible, covered or all-weather space which can deliver intensive year round use. With expansion projects becoming
more common within fixed school boundaries, and often within confined sites, this process is key to a successful outcome. Equally, analysis must extend beyond the curtilage of the school site to look at the marriage value of adjacent sites. For example, as part of a recent design competition we looked to a bordering disused care home as an option for amalgamation with an exist- ing school.
Design for the actual need
Architects are, by nature, aspirational and endeavour to realise their vision. However, if my experience of primary school expansion is the norm, and I suspect it is, there is little place for ego in this type of work. This does not mean that we must compromise in terms of quality, with key standards such as BB103 and the EFA’s Baseline Designs
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92