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FOLKESTONE ACADEMY 'TOPPED OUT'

An artist's impression of the new academy

The new Folkestone Academy which will replace the Channel School in 2007 was 'topped out' on Thursday (23 November).

The new school, in which former Saga Group boss Roger de Haan invested £2m, will specialise in the Creative Arts and European Languages and Culture, providing a range of curriculum, teaching and learning facilities for a total of 1480 pupils aged 11-18. 

Due to open in September 2007, the Academy plays an important role in the regeneration of Folkestone by offering a range of learning and community services to people of all ages.

The school's educational vision is based on a pastoral system – or House system - that offers personal support and encouragement within smaller mixed-age groups. 

The striking design provides eight House spaces, each contained within a 14m diameter circular enclosure. Two groups of four Houses are arranged between linear teaching areas, interspersed by two triple height communal courtyards, with a café and an ICT study area to the rear.

The entire building sits beneath a dramatic steel roof comprising a patchwork of solid triangular inserts slotted into a diagonal lattice, punctured with circular teflon-coated glass fibre light wells that allow natural light to filter down into the interior. The roof extends over the public entrance to the building at the North Eastern corner, creating a striking angular canopy.