Location: Oxted, Surrey

Value: £2,560,000

Completion Date: October 2016

Client: Moor House School and College

Sector: Educational, Residential

Project Team: Simon Hastings

Moor House School & College is a co-educational, non-maintained day and residential special needs school for children with severe speech and language impairments. Located at Hurst Green in Surrey, it provides help and a nurturing environment for students all over the south of England. It receives no Government funding for its building projects. Colman Architects proposed a solution outside the scope of the original school brief which included limited residential improvements and an additional group of buildings. Taking a strategic approach, Colman Architects’ proposal would meet the brief but also re-organise the main school functions on a better footing going forward.

Colman Architects realised that the students’ educational needs could all be accommodated within the existing central school buildings if the residential bedrooms were moved out. This move would also allow for modernisation of the residential facilities as individual bedrooms in houses instead of the existing, outdated, less homely dormitories.

The first phase of the future vision of Moor House School & College was approved by the school enabling the residential village to start the phased improvements which opened in 2016.

The Student Village consists of three 3-storey boarding houses with connecting common rooms to replace the existing second floor dormitory provisions; a new medical centre; and a student centre for use by both day and residential students.

Future Phases for the project include new classrooms and a therapy suite.

“We were/are very happy with Colman Architect’s quality of work and punctuality. In particular, we enjoyed working with Dave and Simon who were excellent in customer services and relationships.” — Dr Fariba Kellaway, Head of Capital Appeals, Moor House School & College