Description

The school, which was opened in September 2006, is a direct response to the church client’s request for a building which would appeal to the potential for a spiritual dimension within the educative process. The architects were commissioned by the Church of England and the local Catholic Dioceses, to combine two existing church schools, St. John’s Church of England and St. Oswald’s Catholic School, an unusual amalgamation of two different Christian denominations. The key principle was therefore to create an environment which would have a spiritual dimension without resorting to overt denominational symbols and references.

The architects have concentrated on emphasising this theme through the subtle use of natural light within the framework of a distinctive sculptural interior. Building work had to be executed without disrupting the existing school on the site. As a consequence the only available location was a steep embankment which the building straddles. The architectural form exploits the natural level changes between the two storeys with the clever use of external terraces and graded landscape. This facilitates access to classrooms and activity areas on both levels of the two-storey plan. The entrances come in on two levels, with the nursery accessed from the upper floor, key stage 1 classrooms entered directly on the lower floor, and the older key stage 2 children up to age 11 using a shared entrance on the lower floor. This provides separation between older and younger children without dividing the school into two separate buildings.

The sloped site also introduces two geometries into the plan form, with classrooms arranged along the south-facing wing, and more public spaces, such as the communal halls, kitchens and offices arranged within the north wing, which is cranked along the central axis. Again this site exigency is utilised to create an interesting central circulation spine that also accommodates small group rooms. One of the key architectural features, ventilation ‘chimneys’ which suck air out of the building by way of the stack effect, raise the ceiling height and modulate the spatial atmosphere, introducing shafts of top-light around each of the vents. As a result an altogether different spatial dynamic emerges within the core of the building. This is further emphasised by the bridge which is crossed at the main first floor entrance revealing the void of the spiritual room, signaling the entrance and reaching dramatically up to the heavens.

The architects have worked closely with the client to develop a sense of calmness throughout the building, with attention to acoustic surfaces to nullify reverberation from noisy children. However, the careful design of natural light sculpted throughout the school is a refreshing alternative to many contemporary schools designed within a strictly modernist language.

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Originally published in: Mark Dudek, Schools and Kindergartens: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2015.