Nuneaton Academy
Nuneaton
The refurbishment and extension of a 950-pupil school, including 75 post-16 pupils, following the merger of two schools and a change to Academy status. Originally built in the 1960s, the school has been extended in a haphazard manner leaving no clear external areas for socialising and internal circulation that was tortuous and difficult to supervise.
Our design invested the limited budget strategically across the campus to bring all buildings up to an equal standard. Designed around a new central landscape courtyard the project involved internal and external refurbishment to existing buildings, a new two-storey building consisting of five ‘house bases’ which defined a secondary courtyard and enhanced primary and secondary entrances to improve legibility.
By establishing a framework of ‘refurbishment grades’, each part of the estate could be assessed for the level of investment required to meet functional requirements and to achieve the required quality of finish. This allowed careful allocation of the available budget and for the academy to make informed and detailed decisions about how the funding was best invested.
““By establishing a framework of ‘refurbishment grades’ the academy could make informed decisions about where investment would have the greatest impact on addressing needs and raising learning outcomes.””
Client: Nuneaton Academy
Dates: 2011-2014
Area: 7,500SqM
Contractor: Shepherds Construction
Photography: Matt Clayton