On 3 November, the SPACES Awards ceremony took place in Reading to recognise innovation and excellence in construction projects across the public sector; reflecting on the important contribution these projects make to their communities. 

We are delighted that School 360, Stratford was highly commended in the Education category, celebrating this fantastic new 420-place primary school within the wider Sugar House Island masterplan.  

The top spot in the category went to another fantastic project that we have been involved in: Houlton School, Rugby. School 360 is listed alongside all the many excellent projects celebrated in the 2022 interactive yearbook, including The Fulham Boys’ School and Houlton School, Rugby. 

More about School 360, Stratford

LocatED and the Department for Education partnered with developer Vastint UK to deliver the school on a heavily constrained site. The school trust had bespoke design requirements for classrooms that interfaced to encourage collaboration, accommodate large groups, and enable better access to outdoor space. The result is a truly unique multi-storey building designed to support the school in delivering its holistic education ethos of ‘head, heart, hand’: learning through play with a particular focus on engaging pupils with the outdoors and nature, and an emphasis on oracy. 

Large and airy interfacing classrooms have careful acoustic design to enable learning through talk and allow pupils to be taught flexibly in groups, encouraging collaboration. Indoor and outdoor oracy staircases act as rehearsal and performance spaces; a makerspace supports pupil development in arts and crafts; and carefully designed outdoor spaces including forest areas, a rooftop playground with gardening area and an outdoor covered classroom. 

The clever landscape design and the use of mature trees and planting brings a countryside feel to this inner-city development. The architecturally impressive building demonstrates the combination of offsite and traditional craftsmanship and achieved the BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating.  

Local residents, who are able to enjoy the school’s sports facilities, have welcomed this new community asset to the heart of their burgeoning community.