TH Reception Classrooms , Islington London

I was quite delighted to be working with TH primary again after the completion of the Nursery Classroom (scroll down see below!). It was admirable that in the midst of government’s budget cuts across UK for all the state schools, TH primary’s head teacher was determined to go against the grain, and completely revamp the 2 Reception Classrooms despite all odds. And what a wise decision! As the classrooms transformed from a crowded typical blocked out zones composed of mismatched tables and chairs of various heights cluttered with everything and anything possible, encroaching onto one another, the new design had transformed the classrooms into free flowing spacious learning “reserves” (so I call it), where children could learn & play organically. The design changes have made a huge positive impact on children’s behaviour and learning; they can now focus better, move around effortlessly, and the teachers feel more relaxed to teach in the space. Before there wasn’t really a place for children with special needs to go into to unwind and recenter, now there are couple areas where they can go to and feel more at ease in, yet without being completely separated from the main activities.

In order to optimise space and workability in the classrooms, the design looked at how we can maintain a truly open plan feel, without compromising on the necessities such as 1. Storage for teacher / children 2. Display and ease of access of teaching materials (that promote independent play and proactive learning) 3. Flexible group seatings that seats min. five kids at a table x 5 tables 4. Open floor space for group learning / free learning (free play) 5. Easy passage (student regroup) to either classrooms throughout the day as part of early years teaching 6. Reading (quiet) zone / Role Play Areas. And last but not least, how can we make the environment look fun and enchanting, we wanted a nice feature that could make the children (and adults too) go “wow!”.

I made sure the the above mentioned were achieved by consolidating items and giving them a new sense of organisation. Main organising principles include storages + display of works / teaching materials pushed off to the sides and line the perimeters of the classrooms, rather than taking up the main bulk of the space in the centre of the room, in order to keep the centre floor space as spacious and as open as possible. Also a bespoke tiered seating area flanked by a large teepee which forms the passage between the two classrooms, were designed to give a more dynamic and interesting spatial organisation while bringing a focal point to each class. The elevated platform seating “island” lands itself as a reading zone without being segregated from the open space, which was unfortunately the case before, and the teepee acts as an additional quiet area for children to go hide out in when necessary. Because we now have an elevated "island” area with tiered seating (steps), more storages were created underneath the platform, to house papers and art materials - materials that would have been difficult to keep out and remain accessible due to its large dimensions, can now be easily accessed. We also wanted to utilise the height of the classrooms - walls were left for display of children’s work, and by also adding in upper cabinets in designated areas, teachers can now have their own storage spaces without having to worry about the children gaining access to them. Drinking fountains/ wash basins were relocated from the corners of each class to be as close as to the entrance to the outdoor patio area, which allowed ease of access for washing hands / cleaning art supplies / getting refill of water during free learning both indoor / outdoor. Many more details went into this classroom, with just one ultimate goal in mind - we want to create a more fluid and dynamic open plan classroom, where there’s no hard zoning left visible but a clearly designated area and its functions can still be identifiable. Each zone can be fully utilised effortlessly, without being closed off to one another, nor make the overall classroom feel small and cluttered.