Poynton Bradbury Wynter Cole were the architects for this £24 million state-of-the-art replacement school in Penryn, delivered as part of Cornwall’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) and South-West Path-finder programmes . The new school provided space for 1,060 students (ages 11-16) and 200 full and part-time staff.
The building was constructed around a top-lit central 'pedestrian street' linking the entrance and department areas, and was designed with the latest principles in low energy and sustainable building design. This includes the use of low energy and renewable energy design features including light wells, wind turrets, a biomass wood boiler system to provide heating, passive ventilation and rain water harvesting for re-use in toilet systems.
Extensive sports facilities were delieverd as part of the scheme, including a six court sports hall with glare free natural daylight, two synthetic turf pitches and a large tent structure with four tennis courts and two netball / basketball courts.
Evironmental features such as natural ventilation with night-time cooling, solar hot water, green sedum roofs and wind turbines helped achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’.
High levels of consultation was undertaken with staff and students, including a series of design charettes and workshops.
