Newlands School

Located in the London Borough of Southwark, the Newlands School building was delivered by the Local Education Partnership ‘4 Futures’, a joint venture comprising Southwark Council, Balfour Beatty Education and Building Schools for the Future Investments (BSFi).

The design of the building was tailored around the school’s ethos of inclusion and cohesion. Legible circulation was a fundamental aspect of the design.

The ground floor is organised around one long, central ‘street’ that runs from the entrance to the rear gardens and sports field. Designed as a double-height, top-lit hall, the ‘street’ provides access to all principal areas and circulation routes. At first floor level, access to classrooms is from a series of corridors that overlook the landscaped central courtyard.

A simple palette of materials was chosen based on durability and quality, including the yellow external brickwork which was selected in contrast with the red brick palette of the local housing.