SCHOOLS
LANDSCAPE
www.hants.gov.uk/school-landscapes
PROGRAMME
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Pennington Junior School, Lymington
188 pupils
This large site is located within a residential area. It is situated on
an extensive campus which is shared with both an infant and a
secondary school.
Initial exploration of the site issues and information
gathering activities revealed concerns with the following:
1. Existing access and circulation:
 Pupils and vehicles shared the same entrance
 There was no link between the Junior and Infant schools so a
short cut across a muddy field had evolved
 Parents and siblings waited outside classrooms which caused
disruption to classes.
 One of the main pathways for pupils and parents took them
through an untidy, unwelcoming space, which contained the
schools bins .
2. Break-time opportunities:
 The main areas used at break-times were two tarmac
playgrounds used primarily for sports and active play.
 The link between them was poor and difficult to supervise
 There was a lack of creative, imaginative, adventure and
social play spaces as well as shelter and shade
 The quiet play area was difficult to manage as such because
of its design and layout and its position next to the ball play
space.
 Key sheltered space which pupils wanted to use for play was
designated ‘no go’ due to supervision concerns.
3. Wasted resources, including:
 A disused out building (within the untidy and unwelcoming
space which was also the playtime ‘no go’ area )
 An underused pond
 An underused swimming pool which changing rooms
 A large unused portion of the grass field space
The strategy identified new opportunities for resolving all
these concerns.
Access and circulation.
 A new pedestrian entrance was proposed with clear separation
between cars and people
 Improved physical links between the Infant and Junior
buildings.
Break-time opportunities
The untidy, sheltered space, which was on a main pathway in for
pupils and which they wanted to use at playtimes, was identified as
an area that could be designed to fulfil a variety of functions,
including:
 A social space for break-time use which would provide quiet
seating corners, shelter, shade, a tuck shop and, within the
disused out building, a pupil managed games store
 A welcoming meeting/waiting space for parents and pupils
away from the classrooms.
 An outdoor classroom to support staff with the management
of a whole class of pupils whilst using the adjacent pond.
The existing quiet area was redefined as a seating and waiting
area for use in conjunction with an adventure play area adjacent to
it.
Disused resources and curriculum resources:
The swimming pool space was to be remodelled as an amphitheatre
and the changing rooms refurbished into a drama/community room
to provide:
 An outdoor-classroom and year group space for drama,
assemblies etc
 A break time space for imaginative, creative an quieter play
 An outdoor community use, events space
Opportunities for shared curriculum resources with the Junior school
were also identified
Many aspects of the strategy have now been implemented,
including:
 The social play space/parents waiting area and outdoor
teaching base next to the pond
 The re-modelling of the swimming pool area and
refurbishment of the former changing rooms.
 The provision of the adventure play area.
Summary
The strategy for the whole site has provided the school with an
important tool for:
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

Communicating
Planning
Prioritising
Fundraising
Before: the sheltered, no go area before the changes
After: providing shade, shelter and quiet seating
corners
The remodelled
swimming pool space
including an
amphitheatre and the
changing rooms
refurbished into a
creative arts room
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April 2009