Outwood Grange School, Wakefield, Yorkshire
Outwood Grange School, on the outskirts of Wakefield, Yorkshire, is the third largest secondary school in the UK, with 2020 pupils. The number currently increases by up to 50 new pupils each year.
As the number of pupils grew after its founding in 1971, so too did its need for space. A dozen buildings - including a music block and drama studio - are spread out over a site covering several hectares.
The most recent addition, the school laboratories and senior school library, opened in January 1996. It was designed by the in house staff at Wakefield's metropolitan area council and the main contractor was W G Birch Construction of Harrogate. It cost £1,360,000.
"I think the facilities will encourage the older pupils to stay on here," said Nicola Hanson, Outwood's Business Development Officer, "It's state-of-the-art, has computers and it is something you can't get in a lot of places."
The senior library is octagonal and pagoda-like with an outer rim of computer tables and technological equipment. Outwood's grant included funds for security cameras, so the large ground-floor windows which show off the interior provide no sensible access for thieves or vandals.
This worrying consideration dealt with, the views of the hilly countryside and 360 degrees of daylight are the main features of the library.
Outwood Grange A-level student Richard, 17, said, "The school has a very friendly atmosphere and the building helps this. It's more modern; it always has good light. It's also very security-conscious."
Attached to the building is the steel and glass rectangular block of eight classrooms and seven laboratories which are shared by pupils of all ages. The tapering roofs on two levels continue the pagoda theme, and are linked to the library by an airy glass entrance. The rooms are white and well lit from the outside.
David, 11, is a new pupil. "I like the rooms here. It's much tidier. It's got so many different rooms than my old school," he said.
Laura, 12, said: "Everything is easy to get to. There are loads of rooms. I thought I'd get lost. My first impression was that it was big and I didn't know where I was supposed to be."
Outside, care was taken to avoid damage to existing trees close to the buildings and a triangular court attaches the building to the rest of the school complex.
The Cathedral School, Wakefield
Two schools combined to create the current make-up of The Cathedral School in Wakefield, Yorkshire, four years ago. The school has 820 pupils and a future capacity for 1200 - to be filled in the coming years.
The school was extensively restructured with old and new buildings merging into one educational complex. The extension, which has trebled the classroom space, opened in January 1995. Again, the design came from the in-house team at Wakefield's metropolitan area council at a cost of over £6 million.
"It's very spacious. It's got carpets, which not many schools have, and comfy furniture. It's warm too." Said Helen Greenhough, 13, who has been at the school for three years. "As soon as we moved here, we could see a really big change. We had never been in a new school before. It was as though we'd been given a big present. I didn't think it was going to be as big."
Her friend Emma Golding, 13, added: "The cleanliness is the big difference. And the facilities are much nicer than they were in the older buildings. And by the end of the day you couldn't see any daylight. The classrooms at our old school were a lot smaller. They were really old."
The deputy headmaster, Mike Waddington, snapped up the opportunity to manage a new school. "It's still a bit like having a new toy. What we are still doing is looking at the buildings and testing whether a door is supposed to open one way or the other.
"It is very difficult for architects - it's hard enough to build a house. It is hard to appreciate fully how difficult it is to design a place. They would often come down and ask us about designs and colour schemes."
Waddington's staff had to reorganise their lessons around meetings to discuss the future buildings. "We know about children and education, but we had to think very deeply about how to organise office space and how it would affect children. We were consulted a lot, so we think of the schools as our creation as well. It was brilliant to have the chance. I like teaching here."
It takes an hour to tour around the entire new building. Meeting space for older years mingle with a well-designed system for laying out school lockers. The more traditional gymnasium (complete with indoor cricket pitch) is placed next to a smaller room complete with enormous climbing frames, largely lit from an even bigger section of windows.
"I Like the PE department. It is polished and there are nice bright colours: yellow, blue and red. It is easy to use," said Helen. "There isn't one bit of the school I don't like. I wouldn't mind a tuck shop added, though."
About the team
Interviews by editor Majida Khatun, 14, and reporter Senab Adekunle, 14. This article was published in the Architects' Journal, in a special youth edition guest-edited by Children's Express.
