Lightoaks Primary School

The grounds at Lightoaks have been developed across three stages over two years.

It allowed us the opportunity to learn their needs and share ideas.

Stage one

We built on the good practice the school had been developing in allowing more vulnerable students access to a narrow long strip of land to the front of the building. There they could explore imaginative, unstructured play such as den building and digging within a quieter environment.

Subtly segmenting the space into a series of overlapping areas and working with the existing mature trees we developed a lengthy watercourse, lookouts, sand beneath a willow dome, growing spaces, walkways through undergrowth, and a large variety of planting.

Stage two

The tarmac yard and its tired brick planters. Most schools have them.

The old structures were replaced with an interlocking series of platforms and planting set into the hard surface.

There’s a shelter, a timber-clad cargo container, outdoor clothing storage, and the perimeter ring top fencing softened with wooden stats. An uninspiring block of privet was swapped for tilting platforms and native trees for shade.

There’s so much corporate boundary planting in schools that could really benefit from a rethink.

Stage three

The large turf sports field to the rear of the school, accessible only in dry weather.

The solution was to install a circuitry self-binding gravel track allowing access throughout the year.

The track diverts or opens out to various play elements on its way around the field.

Most notably a large timber structure that spirals up to double sliding poles. Within its curves are climbing and sliding places, lookouts, and spaces to squeeze into. again we prioritized the tree planting and set aside areas for long grass.

Returning to the site after lockdown it was exciting to see how long that grass had become. the structures rising up out of the jungle.