Folkestone Academy

The new Folkestone Academy will offer a range of curriculum, teaching and learning facilities that combine the best features of the independent education sector with the Pastoral System of intra-school support and encouragement. A core curriculum - based on the National Curriculum - will be supplemented by specialisations in the Creative Arts and European Culture and Language. As with other schools in the academy program, Folkestone Academy will also contribute to the regeneration of the local area by offering a range of services to the wider community.

A total of 1480 pupils - aged between 11 and 19 - will be accommodated in eight Houses and six form groups, which will form the basis for pastoral care and support. The sophisticated pastoral system lies at the heart of the Academys philosophy, with each student benefiting from a level of individual support that comes from belonging to a small readily-identifiable group which offers them guidance. Pupils will be encouraged to identify with their House, returning there for breaks and meals - when healthy diets for all pupils is a priority. The architectural design supports this system by providing each House with separate dedicated facilities, including outside space for social activities, within the overall building form. Two groups of Houses will be arranged around semi-external courts, allowing a covered place to play in bad weather.

Each of the eight individual House spaces contain registration, pastoral support groups, dining, personal lockers, break-out and seminar facilities. The Houses are grouped in a large internal court at the schools heart that unifies the scheme and the Academy as a whole. Classrooms will be in close proximity to the House spaces, with adjacent small group/study rooms. There will also be specialist facilities for art, music, drama and dance, as well as a video-editing suite, recording studio and large performance space.

Client: DfES and Folkestone Academy Trust, KCC, King's School, Canterbury, Roger de Haan
Consultants: Buro Happold, Davis Langdon, Buro Happold