Serving the communities of the five inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly, the Five Islands school is a new build “through-school” for 280 pupils aged 3 to 16. The building is on split levels and provides facilities for both educational and community use through indoor and outdoor areas.
It features formal and informal education and recreation spaces, a multi-use games area, hard play area, and a sports hall adjoining the existing Carn Gwaval School.
The island location presented numerous challenges for the design firm. Logistics of constructing a substantial building utilising minimal local resources and minimising its impact on the fragile fabric and ecology of the island was a major challenge. Access for staff, parents and pupils also had to be maintained to the existing Carn Gwaval School and a public right of way, with careful traffic management around the construction site.
The Civic Trust Awards 2013 was given to the winners on 9 March at Cardiff. The Civic Trust Awards scheme was established in 1959 to recognise the very best in architecture, design, planning, landscape and public art. It is given to projects of the highest quality design, which have made a positive cultural, social or economic contribution to the local community.
