School of the future built on tradition

As one of the leading independent schools in the East Midlands, Fairfield Preparatory School, part of the Loughborough Endowed Schools, has received planning permission to build a state of the art new facility to cater for the growing demand for places over recent years in its Pre-Prep (4-7 years) department.

An innovative design solution has been created by Studio G Architecture to achieve Fairfield’s educational vision, providing pupils with additional space and improved accommodation, including new classrooms, an extended gymnasium with spacious changing rooms, a specialist arts and craft room, designated social areas and essential office space.

More importantly, the project will offer a unique opportunity to launch a purpose built Kindergarten unit, which will be available for children aged 3+ during term time. With the creation of the Kindergarten, Loughborough Endowed Schools will have the potential to educate pupils from 3 to 18 years of age.

Andrew Earnshaw, Headmaster said: "The new Pre-Prep centre will feature state-of-the-art facilities providing a school designed and equipped to deliver an outstanding education for the 21st century and one that Loughborough can be rightly proud of."

The Loughborough Endowed Schools are committed to the environment and this is a key driver in the design and delivery of all new capital developments. The Fairfield project is no exception and considerable effort has already gone into ensuring that the new building meets the highest levels of energy efficiency and regard for the environment. The technical elements of the project are still at the design stage; however the building will almost certainly include a balance of traditional and novel technologies to achieve the lowest environmental footprint possible. This could include the use of rainwater harvesting, heat exchange systems, solar and photovoltaic energy production and passive heating and ventilation systems.

Jim Doherty, the Foundation’s Secretary and Treasurer said: "The aim of the Foundation’s strategic capital plan is to ensure that the schools’ facilities continue to meet the requirements of both today and into the future, whilst at the same time ensuring that tuition fees are kept as competitive as possible. In the case of the Fairfield project, significant financial modelling and assessment was conducted, both internally and by external advisors to ensure that the development is both affordable and sustainable."

Prudent financial management, both historically and in this present day, has enabled the Foundation to safely commit to projects such as Fairfield and other recently completed developments such as the Joint Music School and Grammar School Science Park.

The Fairfield project has undergone a rigorous requirement analysis process to ensure that the precise needs of the School will be met, both today and in the future, as cost effectively as possible. Jim Doherty continues: "The Loughborough Endowed Schools are also very proud of their roots and conscious of their pre-eminence within the Loughborough society meaning that all new developments are delivered in consultation with the local community within which we belong."