Delivering Primary School places - NLA

On October 10th, Paul Baxter took part in a round table discussion Think Tank, hosted by New London Architecture, entitled 'Delivering Primary School places for London'.

Attended by architects, builders, local authorities and educationalists, the discussion focussed on ways to meet the huge shortfall in places that is predicted in 2016. Much of the debate revolved around the issue of 'standardisation' and the relevance of the baseline school schemes issued by the EFA. The general consensus was that the reduced space standards will limit flexibility, both in how the curriculum is delivered and in dealing with increasing school rolls. There was also support for the notion that 'standardisation' should refer more to the specification of components (be they taps or whole toilet cores) rather than the rolling out of standard designs for complete schools, particularly on the challenging sites that are likely to be available in London.