The new English Learning Zone at Carshalton Boys Sports College has overcome the challenges of a constrained site and limited funding to create a highly flexible, contemporary learning environment.

FBM Architects have had a long and successful relationship with Carshalton Boys Sports College, providing additional accommodation over recent years for 1200 students in a phased sequence of works.  The vision and values of the school have been key drivers for the new buildings we have created to accommodate the growth in student numbers; each department has been given its own unique identity within the campus-atmosphere of the college and the design of each space promotes student attentiveness and engagement.

The latest building is a 926sqm facility for use as an English Learning Zone, providing eight new 60sqm classrooms set over two stories with dedicated storage space, circulation, offices and welfare facilities. The building also provides a learning resource centre on the first floor. These spaces are set either side of a wide central corridor, which acts as a break out area for study groups and significantly improves the flow of students between lessons, which has a positive impact on behaviour and conduct as well as punctuality.

Natural light and transparency have been maximised in the design of the building; characteristics that are seen by the College as critical to providing learning environments that nurture excellence in pupil progress.  The generous teaching spaces make use of movable partitions to allow for future-proof flexible teaching environments as well as accommodating community use outside of teaching hours.

The brick façade takes its tonal and textural cue from the surrounding residential buildings but in its detailing and execution offers a unique identity for the English Learning Zone. In order to maximise natural light whilst mitigating solar gain and provide protection from the adjoining playground, hit and miss brickwork over glazing on the southern elevation creates a dappled light within and omits the need for bolt-on brise soleil. Larger areas of open glazing on the northern elevation are contained within the same rhythm of vertical brickwork piers.