Renton Campus, West Dunbartonshire Council

Our approach

The three-storey campus incorporates a mix of flexible teaching areas, LCU specific spaces, an open plan nursery, dining and sports halls, offices, and support spaces. Externally, the campus benefits from roof terraces, a multi-use sports pitch and playground area with trim trail, star stage and allotments to support the campus' field to fork strategy.

We worked collaboratively with West Dunbartonshire Council's education team from initial concept through to handover to deliver an inspirational learning environment unlike any other in Scotland. Delivering the council’s vision for a new way of learning was very much a collaborative journey from day one. We listened to their needs and alongside our considerable design and build experience, introduced specialist education (Space Zero), FF&E (Belle Unique) and Landscape (OOBE) consultants to assist in designing the spaces. The result is an inspirational and stimulating learning environment with a range of creative and usable internal and external spaces which reflects the Renton community.

Another pivotal moment in the design evolution was the decision to move away from defined classrooms, embracing the open solution and camp-fire model. This is based on the on the principle that when children arrive at school they go to their 'camp-fire' to get their instructions and are then able to work individually or in groups in a variety of flexible learning spaces. Maximising the external learning spaces through the roof terraces was also important due to the limited space offered by the site. This means the campus has outdoor learning spaces at all levels with a slide guaranteeing that moving between levels is fun!

Social impact

The campus was a tandem build project on a highly confined site with close proximity to the street on 3 sides of the building and within 4m of the existing live school. Whilst this meant that materials distribution around site and general site access and congestion were key challenges, it allowed for great engagement opportunities with pupils at the existing Renton Primary School. We engaged with the school to deliver numerous educational events such as ‘how we use maths every day in construction’, ‘dismantling gender stereotypes’, and several design engagements with the pupils. We were delighted to supply the school with a pair of plimsoles for every pupil, educational books and resources, trikes for the nursery and a piper to welcome the pupils on the first day at their new school.

"We moved into our new Renton Campus in October 2021. Throughout our new school tandem build project, Morgan Sindall have been very considerate partners who have at all times prioritised site activity to ensure that our service delivery continued throughout. Although there were challenges as a result of the very close proximity of the two sites we found this to be a positive experience. Children were able to observe the progress of the build and site activity throughout and Morgan Sindall supported curricular delivery in subject areas such as Women in Construction and Tackling Gender Stereotypes. A particular strength has been the communication and partnership working between the Project Manager and the school. This positive relationship has been invaluable and has enhanced our journey towards our new school. "

Lynne Dempster, head teacher, Renton Primary School