The GBP7.5 million ($11.3 million) Elm Court School refurbishment project designed by JM Architects and built by Apollo Education gave a new lease of life to a dilapidated Edwardian building, which was formerly the Strand Grammar School.
The Elm Court School is a school for students aged 11-16 with moderate learning difficulties. The nearby Strand Grammar School building which has been non-functional since the 1980s was upgraded to meet the growing needs of the Elm Court School.
Elm Court School was the fourth BSF school to be built in Lambeth. The BSF program is the government’s investment program in secondary school buildings in the UK. The main challenge faced by the architects was to transform an old Edwardian building designed for traditional classes with desk-based lessons where all pupils faced the front, into something suitable for 21st century education, requiring a mix of spaces and settings for modern learning process.
The end result is a sensitively refurbished building alongside new build extensions, which provide added facilities such as a multi-use games area, basketball court, music and technical departments.
JM Architects has made the comparatively dark building into a brighter zone by converting the old school hall into an atrium at the heart of the building. This has helped in making the structure an open one with a central space for meeting and mingling. The addition of new glass paneled stairways also helped in repelling the darkness. The scheme includes two new teaching blocks – sports hall and practical teaching areas – to the rear of the site, and five all-weather pitch and basketball courts.
The BCSE award ceremony was held on June 24, 2010 in South London.
