Alfriston School is a state-funded girls school with Academy status catering for secondary-age day and boarding pupils between the ages of 11 and 18 with a wide range of special educational needs. The school has day places for up to 120 pupils and provides residential care for 20 of those pupils. Most pupils have moderate learning difficulties, and a large majority have additional needs, such as speech, language and communication difficulties, sensory impairment, or physical difficulty.                                                                                                                                       

Neilcott was employed to undertake the design and construction of a new performing arts building at Alfriston School, working with the novated architect Ellis Williams Architects. The building provides teaching and performance spaces in the disciplines of music, drama and dance as well as new landscaping, facilitating a new department on the school campus.

The Scope
Works involved construction of a new two-storey steel-framed performing arts block (c.401m2) to connect with the existing sports hall. The new facility provides additional teaching space, storage, changing facilities, toilets and circulation. An area occupied by a temporary classroom block and garages was cleared and storage containers relocated to make way for the new building.

Performance / Teaching Hall –  The double height performance hall is light, spacious and designed to offer flexibility in its use. Alongside daytime or evening performances to an audience of up to approximately 230 people, the hall will serve as a primary teaching space in the disciplines of dance, music and drama on a day to day basis, as well as providing a much needed large space for gatherings, assemblies and school events.  Flexible lighting can be provided to suit each of the different uses accommodated within the space. To the rear of the hall, storage for chairs and demountable stage elements has been provided so that these can be stowed away as necessary.
The ground floor area of the Performance Hall space can be used in isolation for small to medium sized performances or in combination with the first floor gallery to provide additional seating.

Entrance Foyer & Lobby – The new primary entrance opens into a split level entrance foyer in a double height space which consolidates the various disparate entrances of the existing adjacent gym and offices within the envelope of the new building.  The foyer space provides a break out area for classes entering or exiting the building, or audience members waiting to enter the space before a performance. The position of changing rooms and WCs in close proximity mean that such activities can be contained to one area of the building during a performance, making it easier to manage.

Teaching Space – Two dedicated classrooms provide teaching space for classes of 10-24 students with flexibility between formal and informal teaching arrangements according to the type of discipline: editing classes/ drama lessons/ ballet classes etc.