General Introduction to Project

St Bride's is a single stream primary school with a nursery that was built to replace an existing facility destroyed by fire. It consists of seven classrooms, a two room nursery, an ICT room, gym hall, changing, dining and GP facilities.

The school is very much designed as a community facility and the layout accommodates the use of non-classroom areas, and specifically the gym and dining room, as community facilities outwith school hours. Adult-sized shower facilities are provided.

This school was selected as a case study as it is an early example of a number of schools built by South Lanarkshire as part of a 'Partnering Agreement' between the council and the same architect and main contractor team. The council's architecture team worked closely with the delivery team and the school users, and this has provided a successful basis for the development of a number of subsequent schools. These schools are all bespoke designs, to suit the specific needs of their sites, and as such are in no way formulaic. However, the design approach in terms of team working and consultation with users is allowing the council to learn from each school and to develop new ideas based on issues that arise in each case. This was further evidenced through discussion with the headteacher who, although pleased with her own school, was equally pleased that suggestions made during consultation, which had not been possible to accommodate in St Bride's, had been implemented in later schools. By comparing this school with the latest example, Chatelherault School, (also featured as a case study) it is evident that this approach has merits and could serve as a model for other local authorities.