Castle Primary School

The design of school buildings isn’t limited to our involvement between appointment and handover – in virtually all cases it is part of a much larger programme. Castle Primary is a good example of this. The production of different designs, costings and expansion capacities led to a variety of proposals; these were then analysed to see how the gradual expansion of the school could be best accomplished. Our knowledge of education facilities allowed for the school to double in size from 210 to 420 places (1 form to 2 form entry) with each successive school year over a seven-year period.

The development of schools in this way is made complex by the increase of ‘nucleus’ facilities, such as school halls, dining rooms and sports facilities, that can’t grow progressively. We organise the replacement of resources like these within an overall strategy – this shows the effect on the school in each year and how we can best realise new buildings and improve the existing. At Castle Primary we were appointed as Design Architects for all stages of the works and so we could maximise play space and deliver a school with easier access and better flow, all whilst doubling the size of a ‘live’ school.

The scheme was completed ready for the start of the school year in the Autumn of 2018, and won a BANES Building Control design award in 2019.