subject: Innovative Interactive Classrooms At Litherland High School [print this page] Litherland High School a 27.5 million (US$41 million) next-generation school has just been completed in Sefton, Liverpool UK was a finalist project in the AV Awards 2011 last week.
The hi-tech solar powered building boasts colour-coded rooms featuring the latest computers along with dance and recording studios.
The school is the first in Sefton, Liverpool in the United Kingdom to be completed under the Building Schools for The Future programme.
It features outside classrooms, solar panels and a wind turbine with separate hairdressing and beauty salons equipped to professional standards and interactive classrooms with projectors and sound systems.
Normal school bells are replaced by playing classical music which changes on a fortnightly basis.
The colour coding ranges from green for student support areas to blue for calm classroom areas, to red or yellow for music and dance.
Head teacher Jim Donnelly said he believed the improvements were "long overdue." He added that: "The building has been carefully and individually designed to enhance learning in the 21st century".
The central avenue unites the three distinct curriculum areas of the school and features the professionally-designed hairdressing and beauty salons; "it is called the Avenue of Stars to reflect our strong links with Hong Kong."
The school's old building was the first school to be opened by Lancashire County Council after the Second World War which will now be demolished to make way for a new "village green" for the use of the school.
The school building is 10,900 square metres. Sheppard Robson, the architect, is working with Kier Education on a One School Pathfinder to provide a bespoke tailored design for a school providing interactive classrooms to enhance learning.
The new Litherland High School embodies the vision of the staff and students into an innovative interactive learning environment, a radical departure from the traditional institutional school style.
The interactive classrooms fitted with interactive projectors include Edis EA35 In-wall amplifiers with microphone inputs, Fast-install cable kits and E206 wall mounted speakers either side of short throw Epson projectors, The images are projected onto normal whiteboards that become interactive through use of special interactive systems built into the projectors. Digital signage features Edis World Beater LCD Tilt wall mounts with all Audio Visual equipment supplied and installed by CDEC Ltd who are Finalists in the AV Awards 2011.
