St Francis of Assisi Academy

The Academy of St Francis of Assisi in Liverpool is a joint Anglican/Roman Catholic school. Opened in 2005, the Academy specialises in the environment and a commitment to sustainable ways of living.

Cambridge Education was engaged by DCSF and the sponsors to work with the Academy’s Design Team providing project management and education advisory services.
Our consultancy team provided facilitation and support for the client to agree their vision, mission and ethos and key principles. These were continually revisited to inform the design of the premises resulting in a number of innovations, including the incorporation of a dedicated ‘market place’ and meeting area where citizenship activities can take place.
Cambridge Education developed costings for the building and services solutions (including costs of repair and replacement), conducted option appraisals and undertook affordability and value for money assessments for the preferred building options produced by the architects. The team then obtained any necessary planning and other consents. As shown in the photograph the preferred option included a concrete building with wooden cladding to blend into the landscape.

Cambridge Education worked closely with the design team to ensure that the Academy’s vision and values informed the whole design and that a learning environment was at the core of the Academy’s development. The environment was placed at the heart of an innovative curriculum and approach – even the building captures students’ attention. The outer walls are covered with plants to help drainage, a solar-powered atrium harnesses the sun and provides up to three percent of the school's electricity. Years 7 and 8 have their own garden, which plays a key role in the curriculum: science lessons take place in the garden and in maths lessons students calculate the cost of purchasing different plants and seeds.

Year 7 and year 8 classroom bases were created, which mimic the standard layout of primary schools.  The aim was to address the ‘dip’ between key stage 2 and key stage 3, and reduce the number of students for whom secondary education was a “turn-off”.
The academy curriculum and timetable were organised into timeslots to capitalise on input from adults other than teachers (including volunteers from the community). This meant additional activities at lunchtimes and the end of the day. This has advantages in providing students with additional role models, and with targeted one-to-one support when necessary. Many smaller spaces and informal areas were included in such spaces as the library and central ‘market space’ to support this adult-rich environment.

The school adopted a personalised learning agenda, which brought with it the need for flexibility. Within key teaching areas, such as maths and English, teaching can take place in half year groups, in traditional class sizes or in small groups. Individuals are also able to use breakout areas. Use of partitions and good sight lines around the building supported this and enable teachers to work as teams.