We continue to be busy in the education sector and have recently submitted a planning application for this significant school redevelopment. 

This project involves a primary school in the Cotswolds in a conservation area surrounded by listed buildings. It is traditional in shape but with contemporary detailing – making it legible as a new addition whilst siting sensitively alongside the school’s original heritage buildings.

This project, along with our London sixth form project which can be seen here, demonstrate the importance and benefits of undertaking a rigorous pre-planning advice process to seek support of the planning officer, and, in this case, the conservation officer.

This scheme will transform the school, removing an existing temporary classroom and replacing it with a much larger new school hall. The existing undersized school hall will be converted into a fantastic new classroom, a further classroom is to be extended, and a new extension to the front of the school will provide a secure entrance to improve safeguarding. The new elements have been carefully positioned and knitted into this constrained site successfully balancing heritage, spatial, tree, and ecology constraints.

This project was developed from an initial feasibility study undertaken by us. Our education team are experts in School Development Plans (or SDP’s as we often call them) for all types of school buildings and it is one of our practices key strengths. This is a great example of how we can solve a complex building puzzle to give the school a clear direction of how to get the most from their site and buildings. 

Please do get in touch if you know of any school requiring support to expand and/or improve their existing school sites and/or buildings.