Hideout House Outdoor Classroom at Primary School
We have just completed a new outdoor classroom building for a primary school in Rushden, Northamptonshire. Our initial brief on this project was quite an interesting one as the neighbouring school had a glass geodome outdoor classroom installed the previous year and so therefore the school was looking for something a bit different too.
They wanted to be able to cater for a class of thirty children, they wanted it to be something a bit unique and also something the children would want to be in time and time again. It was also very important that the building was enclosed (i.e. not like an open sided gazebo type outdoor classroom) and could therefore provide adequate shade and shelter from the elements. This was because the building could be used all year round as well….and therefore opened up opportunities for the wider local community to be able to use it as well. As it was being sited on a grass area with a gentle slope, we had to find a way of easily being able to site the classroom without too much expense being incurred for any groundworks.
As well as an outdoor learning facility for the school children, the school also intend to use it for nurture groups where smaller groups of children with either behavioural problems or learning difficulties can go for more focused one to one tutoring with the teachers and as a quiet respite area where they can escape from the general hub-bub of the average school day.
Last but not least, it had to be of a good quality and last for a long, long time at a price they could afford within their budget.
We always like a bit of challenge!
We therefore have supplied the school with one of our Hideout House outdoor classrooms which ticks a lot of the boxes in the school’s wish list. It is manufactured out of cedar which is a premium quality wood and which requires very little on-going maintenance and typically lasts a lot longer than traditionally used timbers. It also has an attractive cedar shingle tile roof with a special atrium feature in the top section to allow in lots of natural daylight to pour in from above. It is 5m in diameter with internal benching around each side which means that it can easily cater for a class of 30 children. It has an extra wide door to allow access for any children in wheelchairs and it is built up on a timber sub-frame base raised up on posts. This was done to avoid having to put down any sort of base or required any previous leveling of the designated siting area.
It also has quite a unique feel to it and one that the children immediately warmed to as it looks a little mystical shall we say!
Schools seem nowadays to be struggling for any extra space so the Hideout House company feel that this could be a very good way of resolving this particular problem. On-site times are also minimal compared to traditional builds for alternative kinds of school classroom buildings. This particular job was completed in just three days from start to finish.
For further information, please contact the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or email info@hideouthouse.com
