award winning architects

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Jennetts Park Primary School Berkshire

Client:
Bracknell Forest Borough Council
Location:
Bracknell, Bershire
Contact:
David Hunter 0117 974 3271 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The school was opened in September 2011 by Rt Hon Michael Gove, Secretary of state for education.

The design is based on a model school developed initially for Persimmon Homes to satisfy obligations under Section 106 agreements for the provision of primary school as part of housing developments. This school is the 7th iteration of the design.

Whilst the design is recognisable as our school model, each version is tailored to suit the site context and school priorities. In this version, the school hall has been rotated to present an imposing face to the public realm of the neighbourhood square. A colonnade alongside the hall draws visitors to the school’s main entrance. The hall also features slit windows arranged to suggest a cross, reflecting the Christian ethics of the school and its managers, Oxford Diocese.

The neighbourhood square was also design by Stride Treglown landscape architects and forms the centre piece for the Jennetts park development on the outskirts of Bracknell.

The school was very well received by the Local Authority Planning committee and school staff and the Head Teacher have also expressed their delight with the school. In particular, they enjoy high levels of natural light provided though generous window areas, the high internal volumes provided through raking internal ceilings and the level of visibility through the school between teaching spaces and the internal concourse. Staff have advised that the environment has had a noticeably positive effect on the children’s behaviour and learning when compared to their previous school.

A Head Teacher visiting the school just before the building was completed said ‘what a fabulous environment for children to learn in’.