Perthcelyn Community Primary School

Visitors enter the school at the upper level where a generous gallery with stairs at either end overlooks the informal communal 'street' at the heart of the building. It is this double height space that links the whole school.

The infant classrooms have cosy reading corners with lower ceilings to encourage quiet play. A series of clerestory windows supplements the light from east-facing windows in each classroom. All the classrooms have their own cloakrooms with access to the playground, each with a horizontal slit window whose position varies according to the age of the class.

The classrooms look onto a playground whose organic shapes and informal divisions moderate the dramatic valley, creating a haven. It is from here that the exterior of the school is best appreciated. Each of its constituent parts is clearly distinguished by the gently rugged zinc roofs of each classroom which group themselves in a protective arc around the playground.

Steps down onto the playground add to the sense of enclosure. The walls are clad with warm western red cedar offset by a deep battered plinth wall of Brithdir sandstone from the site.