The first phase of the new Stockwell Park High School being constructed in Lambeth is the first in the government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme to receive an Excellent rating from the Committee for Architecture and the Built Environment. The natural ventilation system specified for the building was supplied and installed by WindowMaster.

Designed by architects Sheppard Robson (www.sheppardrobson.com) and being built by Willmott Dixon, the school features a number of innovations to inspire and stimulate learning in one of the most deprived London boroughs. The £19 million development is due for completion in November 2010.

Stockwell Park School was designed to consume 15 per cent of its energy from renewable energy technology. A natural ventilation system was selected for the school because it is energy efficient.

Natural ventilation was also selected because studies undertaken by organisations such as the Building Research Establishment (BRE) have shown that environmental design and air quality can significantly affect the behaviour and attainment levels of pupils.

It is now recognised by the government, local authorities and schools building designers that ventilation and internal air quality (IAQ) are important elements in providing an appropriate environment for learning.

However, the natural ventilation system had to be carefully designed to meet a number of other criteria.

WindowMaster regional manager Carl Sutterby explained: “The scheme had a number of issues to overcome which included security for the ground floor area in an urban environment, where the school could be a target for vandalism or burglary.

“These were resolved through the design team of EIC (Alcester) and Ridge & Partners from Oxford, using the flexibility of the WindowMaster NV Advance solution to overcome the problems and provide a secure well ventilated environment for the children.”

Stockwell Park School is naturally ventilated by opening windows and also by louvres at ground floor all controlled by NV Advance and openable windows on the first floor. Using a combination of products gave the school the security that it needed along with the correct ventilation including some emergency smoke ventilation to the stairwells.

The WindowMaster system controls 110 Velfac motorised windows, 128 louvres on the ground floor, 30 Duplus windows and 30 roof windows. In all there are 84 zones controlled by carbon dioxide sensors in the classrooms and temperature sensors in the other areas.