Ridgeway School has reached a crossroads. The school is currently old, tired and due for a facelift. This has given students and teachers the opportunity to take stock and to think about the things that really matter. About where they are now, and where they may be in the future.
Students' tents © Andy Siddall
Exploring the possibilities
Keen to explore the design possibilities of their school, Ridgeway school linked up with The Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) to create ‘Make now better’. This project allowed students to look closely at the potential of their school site, in collaboration with a range of partners. So far this has included: an architect, a photographer, the Architecture Centre Devon and Cornwall and many of the students and tutors from Plymouth University School of Architecture.
‘The first thing that we had to do was to investigate who we are and what the school means to us’, says Ridgeway teacher, Linda Winter. ‘Being on the edge of Dartmoor means that we have lots of fabulous views however we have come to realise that we do not always look at them or the buildings that we use.’
Ridgeway students on architectural tour © Ridgeway School
Architectural explorations
The first day’s investigations were organised by architect, Andy Siddall. Andy met the teachers and students at Ridgeway, to learn more about them and their school environment.
With Andy’s help, students created plans for a new school in custom made notes books. Using Google SketchUp, students began to get a 3D understanding of how the site worked. They noticed how buildings had grown organically on the site, springing up as and when they were needed.
The students then discussed Ridgeway’s identity: school badge, uniform and what it means to be a Ridgeway student. They explored the school’s history by interviewing past students and exploring the history of all the different buildings on the school’s site during their ‘architecture walk’.
Some other activities students and teachers have been involved include:
- discussion sessions for teaching staff.
- making mood boards of landscape ideas.
- using the Design Quality Indicators (DQI) for schools question cards.
- making spidergrams of the DQI results.
- analysing classroom space requirements.
- comparing styles of a number of different modern buildings.
- a drawing exercise – the ‘anatomy of the school’!
- a visit to a newly built school – and DQI assessment of it.
Student tent model © Andy Siddall
Outcomes
Since these activities, Ridgeway have found out that funding for their new build is a long way off. This hasn’t stopped them though, and they are now focussing on improving the existing site. Andy the architect has developed ‘tent building’ workshops to immerse students in the design process, and the concepts and complexities of creating usable space, and the Plymouth architecture students have produced designs for students to reference.
Teacher Linda Winter concludes that the effects of the project have gone far beyond design aesthetics: ‘The project has not only helped us plan our changes, whatever budget we have, it has been extremely beneficial on an educational and aspirational level. Some of our sixth formers are now inspired to study architecture and the relationship with the architecture school is one we will continue.’
If you would like to find out more about how to inspire learning linked to investment in your school site, you can download CABE’s new teaching resource, Our school building matters.
