Building a brand new school is a daunting prospect, but the head teachers at the Blyth Primary Schools in Northumberland had the courage and vision to seize the opportunity to make a real change. Working with Isis they dared to try something different. The brand-new buildings were all similar architecturally but each head teacher fitted out their school with furniture to suite their culture and philosophy.
One of the main challenges, and ultimately a great success, was how to use a large, open-plan learning zone. More used to small rooms in which tables and chairs jostle for position, all the space was a completely new concept. One school chose the Library Pod to break up the space, another chose the Acoustic Pod - both stylish and effective ways of defining a large open-plan area.