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News

SCHOOLS SCOOP POOLE PRIDE OF PLACE AWARDS

Two new local authority schools have come top of the class in this year's Poole Pride of Place Awards.

Oakdale South Road Middle School and Longfleet Combined School, off Jolliffe Avenue, have scooped the 1998 prize.

The annual award, made for buildings and landscape which make the greatest contribution in any year to the quality and appearance of Poole, attracted 11 entries this year.

As well as the two winners, highly commended awards were made to the new girls' house at Canford School, Poole Stadium west stand and the renovated premises of Inductoheat Banyard Limited in Factory Road, Upton. Precision Disc Castings of Mannings Heath were also commended for their new office buildings.

The judges were very impressed with the two winning schools and said: "They simply could not be separated and both thoroughly deserve their awards."

Oakdale South Road Middle School was designed by Adrian Morris of Dorset Building Design Practice, part of Dorset County Council, and it was commissioned by the County Council Education Department before becoming part of Poole's education service. It was built by EBC Construction.

The school is designed as a single storey building arranged around two formal cloistered courtyards at the heart of the school.

The strong architectural forms make an impressive yet welcoming entrance and the sweeping roofs bring down the scale to one that can be appreciated by the children.

Poole Mayor Cllr Graham Curtis said: "The atmosphere in the rooms and in the courtyard combines tranquillity and stimulation and the children certainly appeared to appreciate their environment."

Longfleet Combined School was designed by Peter Galloway Partnership from Havant in Hampshire, built by Dean and Dyball Construction of Ringwood and was similarly commissioned by Dorset County Council before being taken over by Poole.

The school had an altogether different approach to a more tightly constrained and sloping site. The scale of the approach and the intimacy and richness of the spaces inside belies the size of the building and creates a mood of security and quiet.

Cllr Bob Williams said: "The children seemed to be so at ease and at home in the spaces that we felt as though we were intruding upon their private environment."

For more information call:, John Biggs, Planning Design and Control: (01202) 633331