New classroom delights pupils

Wednesday July 21, 2010

Building blocks: From left, Sandy Leslie, Sarah Newlands, Michelle Fergusson, Anne-Louise De Buriane, Milosz Gustowicz, Barbara Collado, Mary Brennan and Chantelle Thomas-Payne.

Pupils and staff have celebrated the opening of a new classroom and outdoor play area at Langford Primary School in Fulham.

The £1million Courtyard Building, which took 18 months to build, is specifically designed to suit the needs of pupils with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties at the Gilstead Road school.

School bursar Chantelle Thomas-Payne, who worked on the project with award-winning architects Surface to Air, said children had been using the new site since June and were thrilled with the result.

"They just love it, and there has already been a marked improvement in their behaviour. It has definitely made an impact," she said.

The new building mixes contemporary design with the school's Grade II-listed building and incorporates lots of windows for natural light. It also uses colours specially chosen for their calming effects.

The building will also cater for pupils being reintegrated into mainstream schooling through the primary referral unit.