The building has been designed by Penoyre & Prasad, which also designed the Bobby Moore Academy Primary School, opened last year and located west on the other side of the Olympic Park.

It comprises 9,240 sqm of diverse learning and social spaces across six storeys, woven together through vertical and horizontal connections.

The site

The building presents a strong architectural presence to hold its own against the dominant Olympic structures such as the Stadium, Orbit and Acquatics Centre. It is carefully positioned along the site’s northern boundary to maximise south-facing external play space.

Layout

The main large spaces - assembly hall and sports hall - are raised to the first floor, providing outdoor covered social space at ground level. A series of roof terraces step up the south elevation to provide additional external social space, commanding distant views over London and Canary Wharf. 

An inclusive design

The building was designed in extensive consultation with the David Ross Education Trust and the London Legacy Development Corporation, and addresses complex educational and community needs. It has been organised as a truly inclusive facility to be used in evenings, weekends and holidays by the wider public.

Community-accessible facilities – dining, gathering, assembly hall, music and IT teaching, and sports facilities, are located at ground and first floor, with inclusive changing facilities at both levels, with the school’s teaching spaces on the upper levels.

An extra large lift accommodates parasports teams using the sports hall.