Orchards Academy, Mixed Comprehensive Secondary School

Set within a compact tree-lined site surrounded by a road and residential area, Orchard Academy needed a complete rethink.

The existing buildings were at the end of their life; movement on site was disjointed, drainage routes, protected trees and retained sports pitches limited where new buildings could go, plus, the school needed to stay fully operational throughout construction.

Guided by a Department for Education’s Feasibility Study and the School-Specific Brief, the design responds to real constraints, a single pupil entrance used by 95% of pupils who walk to school, ASD taxi arrivals, busy local roads and a desire for stronger community links, while creating a clear architectural frontage, safer routes, flexible teaching environments and a school that feels connected to pupils and Swanley.

The school now has clarity, identity and a masterplan shaped by real constraints instead of fighting them.

The new L-shape teaching block brings order to a previously scattered site. A bright central spine now anchors the school, improving daylight, ventilation and everyday movement while establishing the strong and secure frontage along St Mary’s Road. This clarity supports the single pupil entrance and creates a safer, calmer arrival for the 95% of pupils who walk each day.

The material choices reinforce this clarity. Buff brick roots the school in Swanley’s context, while darker brick marks entrances and helps the ASD/SEN wing read as a quieter, distinct place. Soft blue thresholds guide pupils and visitors. The double-height of the Library Resource Centre turns the corner of the building into a civic marker with its large windows.

This calm, robust palette helps the school feel grounded, legible and welcoming, a new confident identity for a site defined previously by disjointed ageing buildings.

A quieter two-storey wing accommodates The Grove (ASD provision) and the Harvey Centre (SEN provision). It’s discreet entrance, controlled drop off area support daily predictable routines. Classrooms open onto a sheltered garden that offer a calmer sensory environment.

The wing steps down in height to reduce visual and acoustic impact, giving these pupils a sense of identity while keeping them connected to the wider school. The rest of the site uses neuro-inclusive principles throughout to reduce sensory overload through acoustics, colour and textural choices.

One of the school’s ambitions was to share its facilities with the community, without compromising pupil safety. The design does this by giving the hall block, containing the sports hall, activity studio, changing rooms, dining and main hall it’s own identity and operation.

The teaching block is always secured after school hours, but the hall block can remain open independently.

A carefully planned secure line runs between the two blocks, protecting classrooms, staff areas and internal circulation routes, while creating a safe boundary around the spaces intended for out-of-hours use.

To support this, the hall block includes:

• a separate community entrance
• dedicated toilet and hygiene spaces, meaning no access is needed to teaching areas.
• Direct routes to the sports hall and activity studio without passing through school spaces.
• Clear visibility from the entrance plaza, thanks to the double-height glazing.

The dining space and main hall sit behind the secure line, ensuring catering and performance spaces used during the school day are protected after hours. This arrangement makes community easy to manage, safe to supervise and simple for staff.

This offers Swanley residents new opportunities for sport, performance and events without placing additional pressure on the school’s operations.

The new buildings change how the school feels and operates from the first entrance. Corridors are wider, brighter and easier to supervise. Routes are obvious, ventilation chimneys are large, and windows bring in plenty of fresh air and daylight, helping classrooms feel calm throughout the day.

Spaces are enhanced with acoustic control, making a noticeable difference especially for those who need quieter, more controlled environments.

The project gives Swanley something new, a set of indoor sports and activity spaces available in the evenings and weekends. For many local groups, this offers possibilities they didn’t have before; the school becomes a civic asset, not just a private one.

Engagement and feedback was ran throughout the project’s conception and completion. The Trust, staff teams, curriculum leads, the DfE, planners, officers, Sports England, the Town Council, and local residents alike all helped to shape the scheme. A well-attended public consultation held in May 2024? showed strong support for the building proposal, community access and material palette.

Highways teams confirmed that, because pupil numbers were not increasing, wider traffic impacts were limited ot on-site access improvements.

The school needed to stay comfortable all year round while meeting DfE Net Zero in Operational requirements, all on a compact, tree-lined site with an active community surrounding it. Poor air quality, overheating and excess energy use would have had an impact on pupil’s comfort and performance, as well as the school’s running costs.

The mature trees across the site were a major influence, as they shape the character of the campus whilst offering natural shade, shelter and social points – retaining as many as possible was a priority. The new buildings were positioned carefully around root protection zones, and new planting added.

A Bauder green roof provides additional habitat and supports rainfall management, helping the project to achieve the DfE’s 10% biodiversity Net Gain and Urban Greening Factor targets.

Lowering energy demand was vital. The new blocks are compact and well-oriented, bringing in daylight while limiting excess heat. Each classroom connects to its own ventilation chimney, giving fresh air a simple path through the building and enabling night-time cooling in warmer months.

Exposed thermal mass helps stabilize internal temperatures, reducing the need for mechanical systems to work harder than necessary.

The building also utilized efficient systems to ensure maximum energy savings, including:

• Air source heat pumps for low-carbon heating and hot water
• Roof-mounted PV panels to generate renewable electricity on site
• A high-performance, well-insulated envelope to limit heat loss
• Solar control glazing to reduce unwanted solar gain
• Hybrid ventilation that responds to co2 and temperature.

The construction method supported these sustainable demands. A kit-of-parts approach with a steel frame, precast floors, stair cores and coordinated components all reduced waste, and helped to improve build quality and limited disruption to enable the school to stay fully operational.

Durable materials and clear service zones mean that the building can be adapted or reconfigured easily in the future, supporting long-term resilience.

Together these measures helped to create a school that feels comfortable, performs efficiently and sits naturally within its landscape. Pupils benefit from cleaner air, consistent temperatures and outdoor spaces that remain green and welcoming, while the school benefits from predictable, lower-carbon operation for years to come.

Orchards Academy is now a coherent, confident and community-focused campus shaped by its landscape, its learners and its place within Swanley.

The design turns a tightly constrained site into a calm, flexible and future forward school. The design supports everyday learning, welcomes the community after hours and remains resilient for decades to come.