New School of Thought

The UK’s first school to be certified “PassivHaus” and adapted to climate change.

It’s a building site with a difference. Montgomery Primary School in Exeter, due to open its doors to 450 children later this year, will be the first in the UK to win zero-carbon ‘PassivHaus’ certification.

But it’s also designed with adaptation to climate change in mind and so, in 2050, will still comply with current building regulations on overheating – even under worst-case climate scenarios.

All in all, the school represents a real triumph for the Prometheus project which, using outputs from the LWEC-accredited Adaptation and Resilience to a Changing Climate initiative, aims to develop building designs ‘future proofed’ against climate change.

Key carbon-cutting features include triple glazing and £1M’s worth of power-generating photovoltaic cells installed on the roof. Adaptation measures range from a large roof overhang providing shading to the south, to small windows on south-facing facades and large windows on north-facing ones.

The site has also been raised a metre to insure against future flooding, while mechanical night-cooling will enable heat to be moved around the building.

“Despite the novel features, the overriding aim has been to ensure this looks and feels much like any other modern primary school”, comments Dr David Coley of Exeter University, who has led the design project. “So the materials themselves are fairly standard. We hope we’ve produced a practical template that other new schools follow.”   

“We’ll have spaces that are comfortable and pleasant to work in,” says Headteacher Martyn Boxall. “We want the school to be a special and inspirational place for everyone who visits.”