A revolutionary new idea of school building has recently been opened on East Road. Oundle has a fantastic new asset for preparatory school children now here to stay.

The new Laxton Junior School, designed by the architects Gotch Saunders and Surridge, was opened in September 2002 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The innovative two-storey building’s design was led by William Assheton, the project architect and his team of designers. They have developed a site that has been able not only to modernise the old building, but also increase the size, in fact almost double.

Mr Assheton said “About summer 1999 we were asked to design and arrange for the construction of a 280 place junior school on the site where it is now located on East Road. We were also given a room-by-room design brief. The site belonged to the school but the field behind had to be bought by the school to become the playing field.

The project has bought out the modern architecture aspect with the curved roof. “The shape was a result of the brief, the steelwork expressed the structure of the building rather than it being dishonestly hidden behind finishes. Extensive glass areas allow the building users to enjoy the surrounding rural landscape.”

The main idea of modern architecture is the idea of exposing glass to create a spacious environment and the beautiful curved roof on the top exaggerates this fact. “The curve was to soften the lines of the building when viewed through the trees while also lessening the amount of unusable roof space.”

The aspect of interior design is also crucial in the modernising of new projects. “There are carpets for classrooms and corridors and Vinyl flooring for the wet areas and also the sports hall. This also contained a cushion spring underfloor.” The project was an obvious sign of progression from the old building in many areas, including the new aspect of underfloor heating. “The underfloor heating was decided upon because: a) it is at low level where small children are (either lying on the ground or walking); and b) there is no need to use up wall space with radiators. It is thought to be as efficient as other systems.”

The safety of the building was extremely well thought out. Not only did the underfloor heating provide a new idea, but also incorporated a very important safety aspect. Radiators cause a hazard for small children in the way that they may bang their heads or be knocked into them. Other plans were counteracted by simple but very effective ideas of modern design for example the safety aspect of the building. “All entrances on the ground floor are wheelchair accessible. There is a lift up to the first floor and there is a disabled lavatory.”

“Also low windows which open were avoided, although window sills are generally low to enable views out for children. Security and few means of access were taken into consideration. A fire sprinkler system was installed.”

The new Laxton Junior school is a revolutionary idea in school building, producing a beautiful environment for children to work in, but is not the first around the area of Northamptonshire. “We have built many school buildings, mostly in Northamptonshire, and we would be very keen to build more. There are a lot of school buildings being constructed at the moment in many parts of the country, but whether Laxton Junior School is the start of a chain only history will be able to tell.”