Independent Schools Brochure by Purcell

Independent Schools

Architects Heritage Consultants Masterplanners The environments that our children learn in make up the rich memories of their childhood and the right learning spaces are vital for their education, development and well-being.

At Purcell, we design, extend and conserve existing buildings and create the very best educational spaces to empower students and ensure their successful learning.

Key to Projects: Historic Estate

New Build

Library

Religious Spaces

Sports Facilities

Boarding Facilities

Heritage Consultancy

Classrooms

Conserve From transforming outdated grammar schools, to private schools with vast estates and historic buildings, we create high-quality educational environments which reflect a school’s culture and future ambition whilst preserving its individual brand and heritage.

Education clients seek our unrivalled understanding and intimate knowledge of working with historic places. Using a site’s context and heritage value to inform what must remain and what can change, we collaboratively engage with clients, communities and craftspeople to transform admired buildings and places for the benefit of tomorrow.

Stowe School, Buckinghamshire Featuring designs by Vanbrugh, Adam, Gibbs, Kent and Soane, Stowe is one of the finest 18th century houses in Europe. Purcell were appointed by Stowe House Preservation Trust to lead an ambitious six-phase programme of repair and restoration.

We have completed several phases of internal and external repairs and upgrades including the spectacular suite of State Rooms, balancing the conservation needs with providing modern facilities for students and staff. We have recently completed the conservation of the State Dining Room ceiling, which sees daily use as the dining hall for the school.

Barlborough Hall School, Derbyshire The school’s location on a site of national significance predisposes itself to a frequent challenge for historic estates balancing ambitions for expansion with safeguarding the historic envorinment.

Purcell was appointed to produce a Conservation Management Plan, including a statement of significance, the site’s historical development, current management and conservation principles to ensure future change is managed within a conservation framework and protect the long-term future of this historic place.

© Radley College

Radley College, Oxfordshire Chapel is an integral part of daily life at Radley College, however it did not meet the demands of the larger, more modern Radley.

It was vital that the appointed archirect repsected the integrity of Grade II* Listed Chapel, designed by Sir T.G. Jackson.

Purcell’s competition-winning scheme was a bold yet sympathetic intervention and included the introduction of an octagonal extension to the East end and a sequence of apses on the north and south elevations, undertaken using BIM. The carefully crafted extension provides an additional 180 seats within the Chapel, enabling the school to grow whilst still being able to gather as one in the chapel. © Radley College

© Radley College

Adapt

We are committed to environmental sustainability in all the buildings we design and conserve. With our holistic knowledge approach to sustainable design, we create buildings that last and can grow with future generations.

Our work extends the life of buildings by creating sustainable contemporary spaces for tomorrow or adapting existing buildings.

Purcell create architecture that is flexible, value-driven, and resilient, ensuring the longevity of our built environment. Our solutions aim to be energy efficient, use ethically sourced materials and employ state-of-theart technology to reduce our clients carbon footprints.

Norwich Lower School, Norfolk Norwich Lower School is built on the water meadows below the Cathedral Close. The school, originally built in the early 1970s, was devastated by fire in 1991.

Purcell conducted a major reconstruction programme to remodel the entire interior and extend the school to provide additional classrooms and facilities. Throughout the work, the school continued to function in temporary buildings in the playground adjacent to the site, necessitating as little disruption as possible.

King’s School, Cambridgeshire The practice has worked at the King’s School over a number of years. Three medieval buildings have been repaired and refurbished to serve as boarding houses, while new building projects include a low-energy technology block and a new music school with a recital hall that can accommodate 100 people.

One of the most interesting projects at the school was the reuse of a large derelict chamber over the medieval gateway into the cathedral close as the school’s library.

Create

Our team of experts maximise a school’s development opportunities through considered masterplanning and building development which is sensitive to its unique site. We breathe life back into older buildings and design exceptional new facilities that complement historic ones.

With our creative and holistic approach, we create the very best environments for the success and development of school students today.

Purcell’s expertise in both architecture and heritage consultancy enables us to maximise opportunities through a careful assessment of each site and its history to create exquisite and cuttingedge school environments for our children’s future.

Stamford High School, Lincolnshire Stamford High School has a proud tradition in sport and has produced many athletes and teams who have excelled at county, regional and national level across a broad range of sports.

Purcell’s competition-winning proposal for a new state-of-theart sports centre protects the views of the town and historic church spires by conserving and enhancing the natural landscape in the new massing of the building form. To sit comfortably within its surroundings, we are proposing to used local materials. The heart of the project is championing confidence and growth in the students and their abilities.

Reading School, Berkshire Purcell were originally commissioned to complete a feasibility study and masterplan, and have since been appointed to carry out the proposed masterplanning work. The school aspires to have a world class campus as part of the Reading School 2025 Vision.

Many buildings are listed, thus the project requires a careful balance between retaining heritage value and enabling new-build development, setting an example for best practice conservation with support of the heritage experts embedded within the Purcell design team.

Northbourne Park School, Kent Northbourne Park School is an independent day and boarding school accommodated within the historic house and grounds of Betteshanger House near Deal, Kent. The listed mansion house was substantially re-modelled by George Devey in 1856.

Purcell was commissioned by the school to develop proposals for three new dormitory houses, changing rooms, storage facilities and a new pre-preparatory school. The buildings have been successfully designed and achieved maximum value for money for the client.