F1 champion to officially open flagship learning village » Housing » 24dash.com

Former Formula One racing driver John Surtees will return to his old school this week to see its impressive transformation into Ashburton Learning Village.

The former world champion will join architect Greg Penoyre, who designed the flagship building, the Mayor of Croydon and other VIPs at an open day to officially launch the school on Saturday (September 15).

Following the official launch, Ashburton Learning Village will open its doors, from 1pm to 4pm, to the public who are invited to look around the new £25m facilities.

Built in the forties, work began in 2004 to replace the old school with a high-tech learning village, which is home to the new Ashburton Community School, Croydon Music Service, Ashburton library and CALAT.

Facilities for the 1,200-pupil school include:

* a three-story school building with modern rooms and science laboratories

* a flexible hall which can be used as a single space, with a stage and auditorium or divided into two separate spaces, the stage as a fully-functioning dance studio with sprung floor and wall mirrors and the hall with lighting rig, sound equipment and control room

* all-weather floodlit sports pitches and multi-games area

* sports hall and extra gym and exercise areas with changing rooms

* sound-proof music practice rooms and recording studio with all the latest technology

* a modern well-stocked loan and reference library with computers, access to the internet and a children’s area

The entire community benefits from these superb amenities as they are available for use after hours, at weekends and during school holidays.

The move to bring learning for all ages under one roof is not the only groundbreaking aspect of this development. Croydon was the first authority in the country to require major building projects to produce at least 10 per cent of their energy from on-site renewable resources.

The south-facing building, built by Norwest Holst, has been described by George Ferguson, former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, as “setting new design standards for schools”

The accommodation includes:

the largest solar panels to be installed in a building in the UK

* a rain-water tank to feed toilets and service sinks

* movement-sensitive automatic lights

* sun tubes for rooms without windows - these polished chrome cylinders are fitted in the ceiling and protrude from the roof and with the help of micro prism glass they magnify the light coming into the room and reduce the need for electric lights

* floor-to-ceiling windows and skylights in the library which again reduce the need for electric lights

* a brise soleil - a permanent blind that stops glare from the sun but allows maximum daylight into rooms - installed on the outside of library windows

* air-pressure tests to ensure the building’s heat insulation reaches the required standard.

School safety was also high on the design brief and all areas have been made secure with the use of card keys. Everyone entering the building must do so the rough the main reception. Locked areas are automatically deactivated if the fire alarms should go off.

Cllr Mike Fisher, leader of the council, said: “Ashburton Learning Village is a credit to Croydon. It provides outstanding learning and leisure facilities for people of all ages, contained within an impressive building that leads the way in sustainable design.”

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