Hertfordshire (as seen on BBC2)

The Big School Makeover, Hertfordshire

As Seen on the BBC2 series The Classroom Experiment

A tired general classroom at Hertswood Lower School in Borehamwood was transformed as part of the Big School Makeover project. It was a post war, system built space with bad acoustics, not enough daylight and a mixture of furniture all well past it’s best.

Students and staff participated in the design process and helped develop the concept. The approach was to move away from a traditional classroom environment to something more active, flexible, vibrant and fun.

The Design

Initial improvements to the environment were made with a new ceiling being installed and two skylights being opened up to provide more daylight. Improved electrical lighting was also installed. Absorption material was fitted around the perimeter of the classroom above the ceiling to stop noise transferring between the spaces.

The interior design provides an environment which allows for focused individual study as well as more buzzy performance activity. Bright accent colours based on the school brand are below desk level with neutral colours above. When the desks are set out for more formal study, the bight colours are not as apparent, creating a calm study environment.

Flexibility was achieved by incorporating loose furniture which can be easily reconfigured by students and staff within lessons to create rows, waves and circular clusters of desks. The desks can also be folded away and stored at the edge of the room to create significant floor space.

The chairs are ergonomically designed for all heights of user and can be stacked. There is also a PC bench into which the computers can be folded away to provide additional desk space.

The ‘front’ of the classroom has been removed and a VerTable, an intelligent work desk, installed which can be used as a vertical interactive white board or be fixed horizontally, at standing or sitting height, for a group to work around. In addition to new fixed storage and display boards, an " idea wall" has been created using specialist paint. Covering almost a whole wall it is much larger than an interactive white board, making it possible for large groups to use the wall together, improving interaction.

The Impact

The staff and students alike are extremely pleased with the space.

The classroom also appeared in the BBC2 programme, The Classroom Experiment, part of the BBC School Season 2010. Further footage which gives a background to the programme can be seen below: