In conjunction with main contractors Carillion, Bagnalls Leeds was awarded a £750,000 contract to decorate Carr Manor High School, South Leeds High School, Primrose High School, Shakespeare Primary, John Smeaton Community College and Ralph Thoresby High School.

Thanks to Seymour Harris Architects of Leeds, appointed by Carillion to design the six buildings, each of the new schools boast interiors that have more in common with design-led corporate premises than with traditional educational establishments. Architect Mike Varlow explains how the practice approached the project:

“We were determined to break with the past and make a fundamental step change in the way we designed these new school buildings. Our objective was to create impressive and truly inspirational learning environments that would give pupils and staff alike a real sense of self worth and instil pride in their surroundings. Through the use of modern interior styling, fixtures and fittings and the confident use of strong colour palettes we wanted to design attractive ‘business-like’ settings that would help to promote effective learning and encourage positive pupil behaviours.“

Certain core functional and aesthetic design themes run throughout each of the buildings yet each school has its own very clear identity as Mike Varlow explains: “We worked very closely with the headteachers to ensure their individual requirements were recognised at the outset. They were all keen to use colour to express the unique ’personality’ of their schools. A good example is the use of deep aubergine requested by John Smeaton Community College. This distinctive and very contemporary colour welcomes visitors at the main entrance to the building and is a predominant shade in the interior design scheme for circulation areas.”

Colour has also had an important functional role to play as Mike explains: ”We’ve used different wall colours to delineate various areas of the schools and help pupils, staff and visitors to navigate their way around. Nowhere has this ‘directional’ use of colour been more important than at Ralph Thoresby, an ‘inclusive’ school with specialised resources and facilities to cater for physically disabled and visually impaired learners. Here we’ve used strong and highly contrasting colours to help everyone to find their way, even those with limited vision. The feature walls in the ‘main street’ running through the building are painted in bright blue, with a white ‘tactile stripe’ at waist level providing a secondary guiding feature. Strong yellow entrance areas denote primary circulation routes feeding off the main street and leading to classrooms.“

Across all six schools, vibrant and distracting décor has been avoided in the classrooms says Mike: “These rooms are all light, bright and airy and we’ve used calming pale neutrals to encourage concentration and effective learning. In each classroom we used a slightly darker colour for the ‘learning wall’ to help direct pupils’ attention on the teacher and the whiteboard.”

The choice of finish was also important as Mike explains: “To avoid an institutional feel and to achieve a more contemporary look we specified flat matt finishes for walls and low sheen eggshell for trims. At the same time we needed coatings with high opacity that could stand the test of time, particularly in the heaviest traffic areas. As sustainability and environmental concerns were always uppermost in our minds we also insisted that Bagnalls used water-borne finishes wherever practicable.”

Bagnalls chose to use Crown Trade finishes at all the schools, from the external entrance areas where Stronghold Smooth masonry paint was applied, all the way through the interiors, where Crown Trade Matt Vinyl, Acrylic Eggshell and Clean Extreme Scrubbable Matt were the predominant coatings used.

Lee Jones, Contracts Manger at Bagnalls Leeds said: “We were very keen to work with Crown Trade on this project because we know from many years of experience that we can always rely on the quality, opacity and consistency of the coatings and we always achieve a good longlasting finish.”

He added: “Clean Extreme Scrubbable Matt emulsion was introduced into the Crown Trade range as we were planning Phase 2 of the project, which involved the decoration of John Smeaton and Ralph Thoresby. Aesthetically the new coating was perfect for broadwall areas because it was available in a wide colour range and had the very chalky flat matt finish the architects were looking for. Because it cures to an exceptionally durable finish that can be scrubbed clean without burnishing, it had the ideal performance attributes for all the heavy traffic areas which were most prone to scuffs, scrapes and soiling.” 

The Leeds Combined Secondary Schools Project is now completed and all six schools are fully operational. Mike Varlow says: “Bagnalls have done a fantastic job in each of the new buildings.  We were delighted with their professionalism, the way they translated our vision and with their choice of Crown Trade decorative coatings, which provided the colour choice and quality of finish we required.“

He concluded; ”Everyone involved with this project can now take pride in the fact that thousands of school children across Leeds are now being taught in some of the most attractive, stimulating and inspirational buildings ever built in the education sector.”

For further information on Crown Trade please contact the Crown Trade Customer Relations Team, tel: 0845 389 9583 or click on www.crowntrade.co.uk. For information on Bagnalls please telephone 0113 2494646 or visit www.bagnalls.co.uk

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