Stopsley High School, St Thomas’s Road, Luton. LU2

Stopsley High School is a suburban secondary school on the edge of Luton specialising in sports and music. With an expanding population and failing building fabric, the school was given the opportunity to be part of the Priority Schools Building Programme and receive a whole new school building and landscaping.

project main entrance in turquoise cladding.
red brick building with colour render panels between windows

The existing school was a low-lying, 1940’s building taking up much of the available land on the site and limiting the open space available for sports and recreation. By creating a new three storey school building on a smaller footprint, Rock Townsend were able to maximise the availability of outdoor sports facilities whilst also creating a modern, fit-for-purpose school. During works, the positioning of the new building ensured minimum disruption to the existing pupils and allows them to continue to make use of their existing school and sports facilities during the construction phase of the project.

Stopsley School has a keen focus on sports. Our design incorporated a high-quality sports hall and gym, flexible enough to be used by the school for whole-school events, meetings and exams as well as sports, if required.  Dedicated indoor and outdoor space was designed to accommodate specialist construction classes for the pupils.  The new building also incorporates a high-quality hall, library and IT rooms available for community use out of school hours.

study of colour panels between windows
colour site plan
colour axonometric view of model
naturally lit triple height space with blue and white walls and dining tables and chairs laid out
top lit triple height space with blue and white walls and pupils passing through the space
top lit triple height space with circulation walkways at high level and tables and chairs arranged at ground
the atriums and circulation space with pupils crossing the bridge walkways
pupils sitting at a desk with a display of shelves and study material behind
white classroom with tables and chairs on grey carpeted floor
pupils sitting at desks studying
pupils working out in the gym
pupils working out in the gym
pupils playing sport in a timber lined sports hall
pupils passing through the staircase between levels
toilet facilities
practical workshop for construction skills
the performance space with high level decorative acoustic wall panels
view of the rear portion of the school paygrounds and break-out spaces
view across the landscaped playground towards the school
render of proposed main entrance
early skitch of main entrance
distant view of the school from the street

Description: Secondary school specialising in sports and music.

Client: Interserve Plc & Kajima

Site: 7.4Ha

GIFA: 9505m2

Value: £13m

Completed: 2018 (POE)

Planning Consultant: Vincent + Gorbing

Civil/Structural/MEP Eng.: Arup

Landscape Arch.: Fabrik

RT Team: Daniel Goldenberg, Peter Phillipps, Richard Shepley, Sally Thompson

view across the landscaped playround and break-out spaces towards the red brick block
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