Are Flat-Pack State Schools The Way Forward?

Are Flat-Pack State Schools The Way Forward?

If a review led by group operations director at Dixons, Sebastian James, is to be heeded, state school construction in England will conform to a "few template designs", standard in design and with a common focus on the incorporation of the "latest thinking on educational requirements".

In a scenario which would seem at home in Huxley's Brave New World, the suggestions come after the previous construction work under the BSF scheme was brought to a halt in July by education secretary Michael Gove. The Building Schools for the Future scheme was first introduced in 2004 under Tony Blair, and was the most ambitious school building project of the past century.

However, it was deemed to be a drain on the economy, with overspending and shoddy construction work cited as the main reasoning for the cancellation of some 700 school building plans.

The general idea is that new, flat-pack classrooms will be erected, with the opportunity for further developments and individualisation of each schools. There will be an "established best practice" according to Sebastian James, but this does not mean that all schools will be carbon copies.

For many this will represent a detrimental move away from BSF to MDF, from bespoke school housing to IKEA-style familiarity.

However, some may view this as a logical approach to a focused educational environment, in which all schools are created equally, with reduced variation in the level of attention and investment afforded to individual institutions. The resultant cost-saving will also appeal to many in times of severe cuts across a variety of sectors.

The approach could not differ more from the previous government's BSF ideas, where architects such as Norman Foster were employed in the creation of new, modern school buildings. The 55m scheme was beset by structural flaws however, with reports of leaking roofs and failing heating systems undermining the projects.

For the first time in a long time, the scheme appeared to allow state education to rival its private counterparts insofar as the grandeur and history of the latter now had a considerable alternative in the form of the modern, revitalised and purpose-built state schooling institutions. No longer would private schools in the UK dominate the educational architectural landscape.

The idea behind the BSF was celebrated by many as a demostration of the Blair administration's commitment to education, and in particular the development of state school education. For those whoc associate the Conservatives with privelaged, private school upbringings, the suggestion that state schools be reduced to a series of "identikit schools" - in the words of Ruth Reed, president of RIBA - will not go down well.

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