A new £15m purpose built two-storey special school and nursery for children with moderate to profound learning disabilities, providing a 140 place special school for 2-19 year olds and a nursery on the campus shared by adjacent primary/secondary schools. There are 14 classes for pupils aged 4-14 along with 2 specialist classrooms for pupils with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties aged 4-19.
The design adopts a linear plan designed to take advantage of a difficult site, bounded by a magnificent avenue of mature oak trees. The new building connects the users with the beautiful setting by capturing delightful views of the trees from the central spine of the building through a series of voids in the linear form. These punctuate the plan internally to become a string of courtyards, bringing the natural environment, light and air to the heart of the building and connecting the users with the outside world in a highly sensitive way.
The school achieved a BREEAM score of ‘Very Good’.
