Secondary Schools

Good design adds value

High-performing secondary schools provide skills and perspectives that prepare students for success beyond compulsory education and into their future careers. Responsive architecture can have a positive influence on social and academic achievements and improve the outlook of all users.

A well-thought-out school meets the requirements of its users by acknowledging their growing maturity and supporting different teaching styles. Designing adaptable spaces that keep pace with evolving technologies helps us future-proof our buildings and secure long-term value for clients.

Secondary schools often become a focal point for social activities that promote neighbourhood health and wellbeing. Through stakeholder collaboration, we can securely integrate wider local community needs into the design strategy for the facilities, helping every development to become firmly rooted in place.

“Watson Batty Architects guided us in helping our vision of an all-through
academy become a reality. Our new academy building
provides us with the type of learning environment we needed to
deliver our curriculum vision. Despite all unforeseen barriers that
arose throughout the project, creative solutions that came within
budget were developed. We couldn’t be happier in our new school.”

Co Principal – Temple Learning Academy

BEACON ACADEMY

Beacon Academy is a 750 place 11 – 16 years secondary school with a separate 32 place special resourced unit for ASD students. The high-value band scheme is being delivered through the medium-value band of the DfE S21 contractors’ framework as part of the school replacement programme. Whilst the school-specific brief calls for a partial school project, the scheme retains only a small proportion of the existing school for the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) unit. A new 3-storey 5,000sqm teaching building, which includes general and specialist teaching, sports accommodation, assembly, and dining rooms, together with admin staff and ancillary support spaces, will replace the majority of the existing school accommodation.

The project is due to achieve net zero carbon in operation and includes a bio-solar roof and air source heat pumps. The project is being delivered on a live school site with significant safeguarding phasing and logistic challenges, and due to be opened in September 2025

WOODHOUSE GROVE 6TH FORM

In 2024, Woodhouse Grove School completed its Sixth Form Building project, a significant milestone and a project that continues our 25-year relationship with the school. The extension caters to sixth-form students, offering varied study environments and ample socializing spaces. Designed to prepare students for academic and career success, the facility embodies the school’s commitment to excellence and student development. Delivered through a traditional procurement route, our team were involved from inception through to completion. We navigated the project through the challenging planning process integrating the building into the existing fabric of the listed estate.

TRINITY ACADEMY

Watson Batty Architects acted as Architect, Lead Consultant and Interior Designer on this 3-storey, 1200 place secondary school along with a stand-alone 4 court sports hall. Leeds City Council proposed to build the school to part fill a shortfall of 13.75 forms of entry across the Central, Inner East, Inner North and Temple areas of the city.

The central vision for the development of the site was to provide a high-quality secondary school along with associated sports and landscape facilities which benefits and serves future generations of children from the local area as well as providing valuable community resources. A key driver for LCC in the design of the school was to maximise the use of the new facilities by the local community. In line with this consideration, a separate and standalone sports hall building was constructed which contains changing facilities and an activity studio as well as community storage.

TEMPLE LEARNING ACADEMY

Our design solution encompassed the part-refurbishment and part-demolition of a leisure centre, and the construction of a new teaching block and associated landscaping. It now caters for 1020 pupils aged 4-16 years, using a four year-group phased model.

We retained most of the existing building, demolishing the swimming pool to make way for a new three-storey teaching block. The lower ground floor houses Phase 1-2 pupils and provides direct access to external learning and play. The ground and first floors house pupils in Phases 3 and 4 respectively, permitting clear separation between groups. We devised an efficient stacked floor plan for optimum build value. The elevations feature a striking band of ribbon windows to maximise internal daylight.

This award-winning academy is popular for local community use. Main communal spaces, such as dining, assembly, and sports, can be securely segregated for public use. Externally the challenging topography provides a variety of learning, sport, and social spaces.

DIXONS MCMILLAN ACADEMY

We were appointed to convert an existing Bradford College building on Trinity Road into a 720-pupil secondary school and 6^th form for 11–18-year-old students.

The Trust’s vision to create a responsive environment that meets the needs of the learning community was the corner stone of our design solution. Working closely with the end-users, we carefully planned essential demolition work to enable the innovative reconfiguration and refurbishment of the internal spaces into core classrooms. Responding to the Trust’s desire to anchor the new teaching spaces around a large, central social area, we created a double-height, multi-use ‘heart’ space by using a new glass frontage and roof to enclose the existing semi-courtyard entrance area. We also added a new, free-standing sports hall with changing facilities.

The creative use of existing space has successfully integrated the school’s organisation and management ethos in the clear delivery of the curriculum.

THE DEARNE ADVANCED LEARNING CENTRE

Located on the urban fringe of Goldthorpe, The Dearne Advanced Learning Centre (ALC) is s state-of-the-art 1,200-place school for 11-16 year olds.

As well as the main academic areas, the ALC building incorporates a suite of administration and learning support spaces, specialist curriculum areas, and external leisure and sports facilities.

Our design solution allowed for the delivery of a modern personalised learning curriculum within a flexible environment. The internal layout provides social learning spaces that flex and adapt to different learning styles. A large central ‘heart’ space is the key to the building’s design and function. It provides versatile performance and audience areas and allows views and access to all parts of the building through a light and open multi-functional space.

Through the use of biomass boilers and wind turbines, and by maximising the use of natural light and ventilation, the scheme achieved the BREEAM rating ‘Very Good.’