Sandringham Primary School is a four-form-entry school with approx 980 pupils and 133 staff in Newham, East London.
In 2014 Walters & Cohen was asked to undertake a feasibility study for the school. During the discussions it became clear that they were in need of purpose-built facilities for specialist teaching, such as art and music. The existing nursery building had reached the end of its lifespan, and there was a desire for better outdoor learning spaces. The school also expressed an ambition to offer pre-school provision.
The new building replaces the existing nursery. Though domestic in scale and volume to fit in with the neighbouring houses on the street, it provides generous art, music and drama rooms on the first floor. Long rooflights flood the rooms with light, and the children love the pitch-roofed design. On the ground floor, the nursery and pre-school accommodation have large sliding doors that can be completely opened to enhance the relationship between indoors and out.
Robert Cleary, head teacher, said: 'This new building has had a massive impact on how we deliver teaching and learning and the way we support our children. We now have high quality learning spaces and this means as soon as children come to us from nine months old through our day care service, right until they leave us at the age of 11, they can develop a love of learning and are taught in a modern environment. We are really happy and so is our community.'
The project won an RIBA London Award in 2018 and was highly commended at the Civic Trust Awards 2020.
