Executive Summary
Introduction A+DS worked with Argyll and Bute Council and Campbeltown Grammar to explore ways in which innovative interior design techniques could create new educational settings. This led to the creation of the Try Before You Buy Space.
To understand the impact of the space, an independent evaluation was undertaken by Performance Consultancy Limited.
Evaluation Process To evaluate the impact of the space we involved students, staff, parents and visitors. The process involved interviews, review of evidence, questionnaires, demonstrations of the space, workshops and teacher lesson reviews.
The Space The overall impression of the space was very positive and the evaluation revealed that many aspects of the brief such as a bright, open, modern, comfy, relaxing, and unique space had been achieved. The many aspects of furniture and areas within the space were well liked with study booths proving most popular amongst students. People also liked the amphitheatre, laptops and formal seating for lessons. The informal seating area with the stools, the touchdown space and bean bags tended to be used by older students for self-directed study. The teaching wall was liked in principle but there were some issues with the logistics of how it worked.
Use of the Space Teachers felt that the space helped them to teach due to the amount and diversity of space. They also felt the furniture on the whole was flexible, although the amphitheatre was impractical to move therefore restricted flexibility slightly.
Some teachers felt that they were able to plan more active lessons and were enjoying the opportunity to experiment with using the space. However, they felt there were some types of teaching that were still more suited to the traditional classroom.
Learning The space facilitates self-directed study and group work. Students felt more engaged in learning in the space as they could chose the most appropriate setting and weren’t distracted by others.
The space was also effective for other activities such as visiting health professionals running active Healthy Me drop-in sessions at lunchtime.
Student and Parent Voice The involvement of students and staff in the design process was key as it ensured that it met expectations and people had a sense of ownership over the space when it opened.
Parents were impressed with the space and felt it would have a positive impact on their children’s learning. Effect of the Space The space was perceived to have a positive impact of learning by the majority of people, including students.
Some people felt that the space had a positive impact on behaviour, others were less certain. It was agreed that respect for the space had prevented graffiti or damage of the furniture and when individual students did misbehave the design of the space allowed them to be isolated without distracting others. The Try Before You Buy space is supporting the way Campbeltown Grammar want to deliver the Curriculum for Excellence by providing opportunities for self-directed learning and inter-disciplinary lessons due to the amount and variety of space. Lessons Learnt Lessons learnt for schools and designers are detailed to conclude this report.
Introduction
A+DS worked with Argyll and Bute Council and Campbeltown Grammar to explore ways in which innovative interior design techniques could create new educational settings. This has led to the creation of the Try Before You Buy Space.
Argyll and Bute Council are replacing Campbeltown Grammar as part of Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme. Prior to the construction of the new building a space was identified within the current school in which innovative interior design ideas generated by students and staff were to be tried and tested. This is a living and evolving exhibition space enabling experimentation with interior design settings in the context of the delivery of Curriculum for Excellence.
Classes are working in the space and being asked to assess its ability to encourage and enable different styles of learning, teaching, active learning and group work.
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A+DS is developing a moving-in pack to support teachers in the early stages of using the room, and are conducting on-going evaluation of the exhibition space over the coming months.
Lessons learnt from these new settings will inform not only the design of the new school but illustrate new possibilities for the wider school estate in Scotland. Information about the space and how it is being used can be found at www.ads.org.uk/smarterplaces the A+DS website, where multimedia presentations of the space are being added. This report contains the results of an evaluation of the space 2 months after it opened and people began to use it. The independent evaluation has been conducted by Performance Consultancy Limited.
The Evaluation Process One of the main aims of the Try Before You Buy space was to learn about the effect it had on teaching and learning, particularly in the context of delivering the Curriculum for Excellence. Important questions needed to be addressed such as; What do people, including staff, students, parents, and visitors think of the space?
Do teachers feel the space supports different ways of teaching and learning? Does the space have a positive impact on pedagogy?
Do students engage with learning more in this space?
Does the space influence things like behaviour and mood or well being? Which elements of the Try Before You Buy space are most effective and why?
How could elements of the space be included in other areas of the school, or a new school, to have a positive impact on educational outcomes?
To answer these questions an evaluation was conducted focussed on the perceptions and experiences of the people who use the space. Over 100 people took part in the evaluation and shared their experiences and perceptions of the space with us.
2 To answer the key questions, a number of different evaluation activities were undertaken. Activities included:
• Interviews with Head Teacher and other staff and students
• Review of supporting evidence such as brief for the project, etc
• Questionnaires about the space completed by teachers, students and parents • Demonstrations of the space given by students
• Workshops with the Student Council and teachers • Detailed reviews from teachers about their experience of the space in a particular lesson
We have analysed the data from the questionnaires completed online and on paper, drawn key themes and understanding from the discussions in workshops, analysed the review sheets completed by teachers and enjoyed the excellent demonstrations of how the students use the space. The following sections in this report identify the key findings of the evaluation in response to the questions posed. It also offers some recommendations for teachers and schools hoping to develop similar space and practices themselves, and designers working with schools in Scotland to provide environments that support the Curriculum for Excellence and innovative teaching and learning.
Overall Impression of the Space Students and staff were asked in the evaluation which words they would chose to describe the space. Most of the words used reflected what was in the brief. Students from the School Council demonstrated how the space had met the brief.
Words included; bright, colourful, distracting, fashionable, spacious, big, legendary, high-tech, multi-learning, comfy, chilling, relaxing, unusual, new meets traditional and open.
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The Spaces Responses throughout the evaluation were overwhelmingly positive and discussions revealed exactly what people liked about the space and what could be improved.
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The Spaces
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These results come from the questionnaires.
If people are happy with something the red line (students) or blue line (teachers) will fall between the two grey horizontal lines. The closer the red and blue lines are to the outside of the graph, the happier people were.
Overall both staff and students were happy with all aspects of the space.
Study Booths There was an overwhelmingly positive response to the study booths, especially from students. They are the aspect of the space they like best and feel helps them most with their work. Staff are also very positive about them as they are an efficient use of space allowing a whole class group to work together. In the booths students are able to focus on their own work rather than there being cross-group interaction and disruption. The only issue highlighted was the size of the table in relation to the booth. Wider booths or narrower tables would be easier to use.
When discussing what could be changed about the space most people said they’d like more study booths, possibly of different sizes, to accommodate larger groups working together or those working alone or in pairs.
Chillout Space and Bean Bags Students on the whole really liked the bean bags and the chill out space but were less able to justify how it helped them with their learning. Staff were less positive as they found the bean bags to be impractical and distracting for students.
Through the evaluation it became apparent that use of beanbags was somewhat restricted thus creating more of a desire amongst students to use them.
As the space is used more frequently effective use of the bean bags may increase. One of the main reasons students like them is that they are relaxing, which the staff can build upon in using the bean bags for learning.
Informal Learning Area Whilst rated positively in the questionnaires further discussions revealed that they were not high on staff or students list of preferences.
Currently it tends to be the older students accessing the space for self-directed learning or group study who use this furniture and like it. One of the issues preventing it from being used more is the height of the tables which were perceived to be too low to work at comfortably.
ICT The laptops, in particular, were rated very highly by both students and staff. Students liked being able to access modern and reliable ICT. Staff appreciated the fact that reliable and easy access to laptops within the space meant that ICT could be used to support learning as and when needed as opposed to being the focus of a specific ICT lesson. It was also cited as a positive influence on more self-directed learning. 30 laptops have proved adequate in number to date, although this may need to be re-evaluated when a whole year group are using the space simultaneously.
The Spaces Teaching Wall and Storage The teaching wall was liked, in principle, by all. Staff felt it provided ease of access to resources for both them and students. However, the combination of doors meant that areas within the teaching wall could not be accessed at the same time e.g. smartboard, swing-out teacher’s station and laptops. Storage in the teaching wall is also an issue as the space is not large enough for some standard resources such as A3 paper.
6 The size of the tables means there is more space to work and lay things out. The ease of configuring the space into different layouts also helps as it allows new areas to be created within the space to support different activities and group sizes.
Staff were a little concerned about security as the lockable doors to the teaching wall could easily be forced open and things like laptops accessed. Other storage around the space is liked. Students are happy with the cubby holes at the entrance to the space and there is enough storage space provided for the furniture. This increases the flexibility of the space as the amount of furniture is not a barrier to re-arranging the layout.
Amphitheatre The amphitheatre is popular as it is a natural starting place for lessons and students automatically gather there. The design ensures it is good for talking to a class together. Staff also like that they can easily bring students back together during a lesson when they need to as it is a focal point. The large whiteboard is well liked, however there is an issue as light shines directly on the centre of the board which has a high gloss surface and therefore reflects the light making it impossible to see what is projected in the middle of the screen.
The tall chairs around the back of the amphitheatre give students an overview of the space and they feel they can get on with their own work. Staff like these chairs as they are able to supervise students whilst they are working alone. It also allows the capacity of the amphitheatre to be extended.
Formal Learning Area The chairs and tables for more formal learning are liked as they can easily be moved making them flexible. The chairs are perceived to be more comfortable than stanard classroom chairs.
Touchdown Space As with the chillout space the four PCs located on high benches were liked but rarely used by students in class groups. As there are only four PCs it is hard for staff to find a reason to use these as opposed to the laptops. The main users tend to be the older students and some staff who like to come in and use the space to work. As with the bean bags students in lower school years view using the touchdown space as a special privilege which affects the way they perceive them, as a reward rather than to support learning.
Flooring There was little volunteered about the flooring but when asked respondents were positive. Patterns in the flooring are felt to break up the space and people like them. The patterns and colours are not really used by students to interpret zones. However, staff are starting to define areas themselves based upon the floor design and colours. One issue with the flooring was cleaning and maintenance with some areas, particularly the red sections, showing up scuff marks. Cleaners had to use different equipment to clean the space and therefore found it time consuming. Evidence of these issues may become apparent as the space is used more.
Colours Most respondents like the colours and the overall mix and combination which creates a different feel in different parts of the space. For example the cerise wall is perceived to be a more active area and the blue area to aid concentration. The colour scheme liked least is on the side of the room with the informal seating as the walls are plain white.
Use of the Space The Novelty Factor Due to the recent opening of the space, one thing that has become apparent is the novelty factor as both staff and students adapt to using the space. This has had positive and less positive impacts.
The difference between the Try Before You Buy Space and the rest of the school leads to high levels of satisfaction with the space in relation to other areas in the school. All aspects of the space looking new and functioning well has had a very positive impact upon people but it should be recognised that the space must stay like this in the long term to continue having that impact. In a less positive sense some aspects, such as beanbags, are favoured by students because they are new and different. Students themselves admit that other areas are better at supporting learning but that they really like the beanbags. Recognition of this novelty factor is important as once it wears off people can consider the practical use of space and making learning fun by incorporating the bean bags in an effective way.
To ensure that the positive impact of the Try Before You Buy Space is not just the novelty factor it is important to continue to evaluate the space. Understanding the novelty factor is also essential to help those moving into a new space. They can recognise the impact of moving to a different learning environment on teaching, learning and behaviour to allow time and encourage activities to help people adapt.
Space Utilisation The amount and diversity of space within the Try Before You Buy space was cited as the main reason for it being effective.
People like the ability to create different areas by moving the furniture and changing the layout. The space to store furniture is appreciated as it means there is space to use the area more flexibly, not being constrained by excess furniture. However, despite the diversity of areas the layout overall tends to be fairly static with furniture only being moved around within the area it is located. For this reason there are some areas of the space not used as much as others.
7 Furniture such as the study booths and amphitheatre are seen as being very efficient uses of space as large numbers of students can use them at once, allowing other groups of students to use different areas with the space.
Choice is also key, being able to select the most appropriate area, furniture and equipment for different types of activity. By having an excess of settings and furniture it means that they really do have a choice rather than one group having to take what is left and make it work. It also means that they can move around during the lesson to different, more appropriate settings.
The aspects used most in the space are the amphitheatre, study booths, laptops and formal learning area by class groups. The informal furniture including the stools, low tables and bean bags are used more frequently by older students individually or in small groups.
The area behind the amphitheatre (shown on the plan on page 4 where the flooring is identified) is rarely used. Staff feel that if they define a purpose for this area or have a certain type of furniture there they might use it more. There are also issues with the image from the projector not fitting on the white painted area on the wall making it difficult to use.
Overall use of the space is high with two class groups and a few older students studying in the informal learning area often using the space simultaneously. On one occasion three class groups had shared the space simultaneously for a science lesson and this had proven successful. Further experimentation with larger numbers of students working on different activities will reveal how successfully it is supported by the space.
Use of the Space: Teaching
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Graph 2
These results come from the questionnaires.
If teachers are happy with something the blue line will fall between the two grey, horizontal lines.
The closer the blue line is to the outside of the graph, the happier people were. Overall staff felt the space had a positive impact upon teaching.
Teaching Teachers are encouraged to use the space for some of their lessons and experiment with it. As the space is relatively new, only a small number of teaching staff had made use of the space for lessons and were still learning how to use it for different activities. Ongoing evaluation will reveal how all teachers use the space and how effective it was found to be.
Teachers do feel that they are starting to plan more active lessons for the space and can see how it is effectively used for group work, project work and research with good access to ICT. As use of the space increases some members of staff are using it in different ways such as laying out different activities around the space and allowing students to lead parts of the lesson. Numerous scribble boards and ability to create their own areas allows groups of students to work effectively together with little teacher direction and gives them greater ownership over the lesson.
Teachers find the space supports starting a lesson as a class group, then allowing students to work alone or in groups and review their work before coming back to present to one another or conclude. More traditional lessons tend to still be held in classrooms and there is a sense that this is still the most appropriate setting for some learning, particularly that which is teacher directed.
Additionally, whilst some teachers believe the layout of the space could be easily changed, others do not. The main reasons for this are the perception of how long it takes to change the space and the fixed nature of some elements such as the amphitheatre.
As the space is used by different staff furniture is moved back to the original layout at the end of a lesson period. Significant changes to the layout are therefore difficult to organise without encroaching too much on learning time. As use increases there is opportunity to introduce and develop protocols which may aid more flexible use.
The fixed nature of some aspects of the space also make re-arranging the layout of the space difficult. The amphitheatre is the main issue as teachers find they cannot not move it easily themselves therefore its location is fixed. Staff feel that access to all resources in the space for teaching, including ICT, is very good. This is important as unreliable ICT or aspects of the space not being intuitive to use could discourage staff from using the space. As teachers and students experiment further with the space they will be able to evolve how they use it and the different areas and facilities within. There is also opportunity for staff to learn from one another about the different ways they are using the space and this could form part of the ongoing evaluation.
Use of the Space: Learning
9 Graph 3
These results come from the questionnaires.
If people are happy with something the red line (students) or blue line (teachers) will fall between the two grey horizontal lines. The closer the red and blue lines are to the outside of the graph, the happier people were.
Overall both staff and students felt the space supported different types of learning.
Learning The main, positive impact of the space on learning is that it facilitates self-directed study. The equipment, furniture and amount of space allows students to work well on their own or in groups with staff able to let them get on with their work.
Students on the whole are able to engage with learning as there is less inter-group interference and disruption. Due to the amount of space and ability to separate students they are not as distracted by others. Students themselves feel that the space does have the potential to be distracting, particularly if the other activities going on in the space are noisy. More separation through the use of screens or curtains was suggested and smaller booths for individual, concentrated study.
Choice was again cited as being important for learning as students could select the type of space that most effectively supports the work they are doing. As students use the space more and more they are becoming adept at selecting the most appropriate learning setting rather than just choosing the one they like best.
The laptops are perceived to have been a very positive inclusion as they allow ICT to be an integral part of learning. In the Try Before You Buy Space students can use the laptops as and when they need.
The impact on learning in a wider sense will become apparent as the space is used for more lessons, including those which are more traditional. This will be tested with a group of P7 students coming to the school for a trial week in the summer term. The space has been booked for the whole week and staff will deliver the sample curriculum
there, aside from when there is a need for specialist equipment such as PE.
Additional Use In addition to lessons, extra-curricular activities take place in the space. These have included interactive Healthy Me sessions on a Friday lunchtime, photography club and the Parent and Student Councils. For the Healthy Me sessions especially the space is felt to offer huge benefits.
As with teaching and learning the amount of space allows different settings to be used and there is space for different activities. In addition the design of the space allows people to drop in and just attend when they are able to. In a traditional classroom this was difficult and people felt they couldn’t join once the session had started as it was more formal. For activities such as the photography club there are more opportunities to have activities within the space and allow students to work on projects themselves using laptops before sharing what they’ve done with the group.
One of the main criticisms from students was not being able to access the space outside of lessons. There was agreement that eating there should not be allowed, but they would like to use it for working or socialising at break times. This might also increase the use of the more social areas such as the informal stools and bean bags.
Student and Parent Voice Students and Staff Involvement in the project to develop and shape the designs was important and has undoubtedly resulted in the majority of people knowing what to expect from the new space and feeling that it met their expectations.
The engagement process was extensive and involved the design team developing and testing of a number of models with the students and staff. This allowed the design team to understand what would work for the school and also to make decisions about where to direct investment at an early stage. The effectiveness of the process is demonstrated by the sense of ownership that staff and students felt they had over the space. In addition, the spaces that staff and students thought would be most effective were also the ones perceived to be the best in the space, i.e. the study booths.
Questionnaire results were analysed to determine whether there was a difference in perceptions between those who were involved in the design process and those who weren’t. The data showed that overall perceptions of the space were similar. Most people in the evaluation, even if not involved in the development of the designs, said they knew what was going to be in the space and how it was being developed through effective communication. The only minor differences were that people involved in the designs thought the space had a greater, positive impact upon behaviour and that the layout of the space was more flexible.
Overall, this demonstrates the importance of student and staff voice in the development of learning spaces. In particular the importance of them discussing their needs amongst themselves and being represented at design team meetings is clear. By sharing what they had discussed and the plans for the space with other staff and students it meant that everyone felt a sense of ownership over the space when it opened.
It is important to continue this engagement of teachers and students and continuous evaluation of the space in use provides this opportunity and should be developed.
10 Parents People attending 3 parents’ evenings and those on the Parent Council had the opportunity to visit the space and completed a short questionnaire. Their responses revealed that they were very impressed with the Try Before You Buy space and thought it would have a considerable, positive impact upon learning. The main words they used to describe the space were bright, modern and open. They also felt it would be relaxing for students. All the parents who responded had heard about the space, and most had heard a great deal about it from their children.
Interestingly the parents’ favourite aspects of the space overall were the amphitheatre and the teaching wall and their least favourites were the flooring, touchdown space and the booths, somewhat different to the perception of staff and students. It should be noted that most parents commented that they liked all aspects of the space and thought it was a great learning environment.
Effect of the Space Learning The Try Before You Buy space was perceived to have a considerable, positive impact upon learning by the majority of staff and students, 82% of questionnaire responses. As a relatively new space being used in an experimental way there is no attainment data that can be analysed as part of this evaluation. However, staff and students expressed some clear perceptions of the impact that the space was already having on learning.
11 One aspect of behaviour felt to be improved by the space is vandalism. The space is being looked after by students who appreciate it and are not damaging equipment or furniture. However they are not sure how long this will continue if the furniture is not well maintained and easily suffers wear and tear. Again, this is something that will become more apparent in an ongoing evaluation of the space.
Staff feel that the space enables them to allow student much more autonomy in their learning. They are able to work in groups or alone around the space and use areas such as the scribble boards to present and discuss their ideas. Some areas of the space, such as the amphitheatre, were found to support learning more than others, such as the bean bags. Overall though staff feel the learning is improved as students like the space and are more engaged in what they are doing. Staff feel they can plan more active lessons in the space to support learning.
Students said that they were able to focus on the task they were performing to a greater extent and enjoyed learning as it was more self-directed and the space was fun. They feel that distractions are fewer as anyone being disruptive can be sat far enough away so as not to disturb them. As mentioned some students feel that areas of the space can be distracting depending on who else is using the space at the same time as them. However, with there being enough space they can usually manage this by moving to a different location. Behaviour Around 50% of people felt that the Try Before You Buy space was having a positive impact upon behaviour with many feeling it had little or no impact rather than a negative impact. Discussions did reveal that on the whole the space helped in reducing the impact of the negative behaviour of a few students.
Staff feel that there are some students unable to cope with the space as they are unable to focus on self-directed learning or group work. Students in the evaluation agreed with this noting that it was easier for some of their peers to avoid working and wander around the space and get away with it.
However, the impact of students not behaving is reduced by the space as there is enough room for students to get on with their work and not be disrupted by one person, something they find much more difficult in a traditional classroom.
Staff also said that they find it easier to isolate disruptive students in this classroom. They can keep them in the space to work and be supervised, rather than being sent out of the room, due to the amount of space and furniture such as the study booths.
Mood and Well Being The brief was for a space that had an impact upon staff and students beyond teaching and learning. They wanted an area that was relaxing, fun, and felt spacious. From the evaluation it appears that the space has fulfilled the brief on these counts as both students and staff like the space and feel relaxed. It is perceived to be an open and bright space which has a calm atmosphere even when more than 60 students are working there at once. Curriculum for Excellence The space supports the school’s ideals in terms of delivering the Curriculum for Excellence.
Student-led learning is already extensive within the space and is supported by the furniture and equipment. With the amount and diversity of space, staff feel that it is ideal for facilitating multi-disciplinary learning as large groups can work in the space simultaneously supported by a multi-disciplinary group of teachers. Further evaluation is required as more members of staff take the opportunity to teach in the space and work together to develop plans for multi-disciplinary learning using the space.
Lessons Learnt for Schools
Involving students and staff in the design creates a greater sense of ownership over the space and helps to ensure that what they get supports their needs.
Staff and students need time to learn how to use a new space. Allow for this through providing opportunity for experimentation with the space and supporting staff development in terms of learning from what one another are doing. Allow students time to learn what works well for them in terms of using the space. Bean bags might be a distraction at the start but may become more useful for learning as both students and staff get used to them.
Encourage all staff, and students, to use the space and try it for themselves, even if they are initially less interested than others.
Different spaces will support different types of learning and using a diversity of spaces is key to the success of a multi-purpose, multi-disciplinary space.
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Try all different types of learning in the space from group work to more traditional lessons to fully understand the pedagogy it supports and whether it facilitates and supports the Curriculum for Excellence.
If you find some spaces are not being used as frequently as others give it a purpose, even temporarily, and use furniture and equipment to denote for what it is to be used. Staff and students should establish protocols for use of the space both when they are in the space and how it should be left at the end of a lesson.
Storage for students’ bags and coats at the entrance to the space reduces clutter and makes it easier for students to move around during the lesson.
Be aware of including things which are out of bounds or restricted in use as the students’ desire to use them, and abuse them, is likely to increase. To mitigate against distractions within the space, and denote where activities are to take place, consider other methods for temporarily dividing the space up such as using the tables as screens or the use of curtains.
Lessons Learnt for Designers
Involving students and staff in the design process allows you to understand what their needs are and how they might use the space.
Having additional space to move around and change the layout is very important. Just enough space for furniture and equipment will make it inflexible. Although all of the space is moveable it is not practically movable for all staff and this should be recognised. I.e. the amphitheatre is fixed in its original location as staff cannot move it between lessons.
The diversity of space and reliability of equipment and furniture is important as staff like the fact that they have everything at their fingertips when they arrive for a lesson.
The sense that everything was new was perceived to be having a positive impact upon behaviour and the respect students had for the space and furniture. Maintaining this newness is key and therefore furniture has to be very robust and easy to maintain and clean.
It is important that both the school and design team understand the purpose of all the spaces when it is being designed otherwise there is a risk that some spaces will be under-utilised.
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Things such as beanbags are fun for students but less so for teachers. Understand and explain that there will be a period of getting used to space, furniture and equipment before the effectiveness is clearly understood. All aspects of space, although diverse, need to be considered together, i.e. projector distance from wall and space allowed on wall for projection, otherwise it cannot be used. Storage which is easily accessible and of an adequate size to store resources is important to keep the space clear and facilitate flexibility
Good acoustics is key as not being really distracted by other groups in the space is essential if larger number of students are going to use it together. The ability to partition the space in different ways is useful. It does not need to be acoustic separation but visual and physical separation, which is flexible so it can be changed depending on the area required, would be helpful.
Acknowledgements Performance Consultancy would like to thank the staff, students and parents at Campbeltown Grammar School for their invaluable contribution to this evaluation.
We would also like to thank A+DS and Kirstin Sillitoe for their assistance in developing and running this evaluation project. About Us Performance Consultancy are experts in evidence-based design, in particular the evaluation of spaces in use. We have worked with numerous schools across the UK and have co-led the development of models of evaluation for national education organisations.
www.performanceconsultancy.co.uk
For more information about the Try Before You Buy space visit the A+DS website. www.ads.org.uk/smarterplaces
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