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King Edward VI School, Morpeth

Typical of the school improvement scheme the practice have been involved in are a brace of projects for King Edward VI School at Morpeth, transforming two of the School’s outdated buildings to create a modern Music School and a remodelled Sixth Form Centre.

Our work at King Edward School began in 2012 with proposals for the refurbishment and extension of the West Cottingwood building, a standalone Victorian building in the school grounds.  Bringing it back from a state of disrepair to become the new Music Department with classrooms, practice rooms and recording studio, JDDK also added a new rehearsal and performance space with excellent acoustics.  This visually distinctive extension has a new portico signposting the entrance to the building and giving the Music Department a real presence on the school campus.

The second project, to refurbish the Sixth Form Centre began on site in August 2013. The existing Centre was a 1960’s concrete framed structure which the school wished to overhaul to create a modern learning environment for Sixth Formers more akin to University education.

The design takes advantage of the robust concrete frame to knock out walls and open both floors into a new entrance atrium. Contemporary materials were used on the extensions, including fibre cement cladding and aluminium roofing, to create a distinct identity for the centre. The project team also took the opportunity to address summer overheating with a natural ventilation strategy including passive roof terminals.