2017 – FINALIST, Best School Project Above $5 Million, Victorian School Design Awards

Newbury Primary School is a new school located to Melbourne’s west. The new campus features a learning and administration block, a full size sports and music block as well as two new relocatables linked by a covered outdoor area.

The buildings are designed to enable a student centred focus, where learning occurs as a continuous activity. Each area has access to a shared reading nook, group discussion area, think tank, and small group room and presentation area. Spaces bleed into one another creating a social environment while preventing the need for wasted circulation corridors.

As the school continues to inhabit the facilities, new ways of using the space are being developed. Teachers are beginning to utilise more of the spaces, share teaching duties and run activities such as scavenger hunts which encourage students to explore the spaces. This is pivotal part of the school’s interest in mixing different modes of learning. Further to this, students are encouraged to write on dedicated writing walls and display their work across the multi-coloured pinboard areas. This is an important part of the learning experience as learners begin to show and present their work to others.