Award for St Jude & St Paul's innovative new building
St Jude & St Paul’s CE Primary School has won the ‘Innovation of the Year’
prize for its new building on Kinsbury Road. The award was presented at the
annual building industry’s Regeneration Awards. The school’s new building
occupies the entire ground floor below a three-storey block of affordable
homes. It is believed that St Jude & St Paul’s is the first example in the UK
of a new school with housing above.
Until Autumn 2004, the school was split between two sites on either side of a
busy road and OfSTED had classed their accommodation as ‘poor’ during a
previous inspection. The junior school was situated next to a disused factory
which architects Pollard Thomas Edwards (PTEa) were in the process of buying
when they heard of the school’s predicament. PTEa then entered into
discussions with Islington Council, the DfES and the London Diocesan Board and
decided to combine the sites to provide both affordable housing and a
much-needed bigger and better school site.
“We always try to talk to neighbours of any site that we plan to develop
before drawing up our plans and St Jude & St Paul’s drew our attention to the
problems that they have trying to run the school from the two sites. Our
scheme allows them to bring all services together on a larger site in a far
more attractive setting”, explained PTEa Director Andrew Beharrell.
The state-of the-art building is all on one level and includes a full range of
facilities to latest government standards. The project at St Jude & St Paul’s
won PTEa the Innovation of the Year award at last November’s Regeneration
Awards for architecture. The flats are owned and managed by Islington and
Shoreditch Housing Association, and some were available for teachers and other
Islington key workers.
Marjorie Wood, Headteacher, St Jude & St Paul’s said: ‘We are delighted with
the building which I believe will provide excellent opportunities for children
in the area for many years to come.’
Councillor James Kempton, Executive Member for Children said: "It is a win:
win, bringing together two of Islington's top priorities - improving our
school buildings and building homes for local key workers, like teachers. I
know the staff and pupils are delighted with their fantastic new facilities.
And we are doing even more. At this very moment, we have builders on two other
school sites, building a brand new Bridge School for children with autism on
York Way and the New North School off Essex Rd. Both these brand new school
buildings will have flats on site for local people too!"
For more information, please contact CEA@Islington's Communications Department: