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A £1BN OPPORTUNITY TO DESIGN SCHOOLS OF THE FUTURE WITH MORE FLEXIBILITY
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The announcement of a transformative tenyear school rebuilding programme for England, at a time when school design is undergoing a more fundamental rethink as a result of the pandemic, means we have an unprecedented opportunity to adopt new approaches to the way our educational facilities are formed and function.
driving change in the way our school buildings are designed as they seek to maintain effective schooling whilst the Covid-19 risk prevails.
The prime minister announced in June that the new schools investment programme will start with £1bn in 2020-21 for 50 new schools, mainly in the North of England and Midlands, with a pledge to ‘make sure our schools and colleges are fit for the future, with better facilities and brand new buildings so that every child gets a world-class education’. At the same time, architects, policy-makers and teachers are
Meryl Townley, a partner at van Heyningen and Haward Architects, and RIBA education ambassador, said recently: “The value of external spaces, and the importance of nature and exercise, are now fully acknowledged as being intrinsic to wellbeing as a result of Covid-19. These spaces, which are often compromised, must be held onto within the briefs for schools and their use maximised.”
A key dimension to this is making more use of outdoor space, equipping it in a way that makes it multi-purpose, including for outdoor lessons to be held.
