Highfield Infants School

Highfield Infants School is a school building constructed in 1911 by G H Widdows, the architect for Derbyshire County Council. It is made of brown brick, pebbledashed above the sill height, and features stone and tile dressings. The school has steeply pitched plain tile roofs with wide overhanging eaves, as well as vented brick ridge and side wall stacks. The gables are approximately 3 feet narrower than the walls below and have tiled dentilled eaves.

The building is single storey, with attics in some areas, and consists of three ranges connected by transverse passages. The east front features a central gabled bay with attics, flanked by large external brick stacks and lower wings. A central segment-headed arch has stone impost blocks and a double keystone, with radiating tiles between. Behind this arch is a plain plank door, with two 2-light casement windows on either side. Further along, there are two 3-light small pane casements with low transoms. Above the central bay is another 3-light window, which has a blind semi-circular recess above with a stone keyblock. There are also lower single casement windows and large hopper heads on either side, along with three small louvred vents at the top of the gable.

The west elevation is similar to the east. The north and south elevations each have three gable ends, with a central blind segment-headed recess featuring a stone keyblock and three casement windows within. The flanking pieces on either side of the gables have three vertical stone bands. The transverse corridors between the gable bays have three pairs of double glazed doors behind an open arcade supported by plain wooden posts with curved braces at the top. Above these corridors are three roof dormers, each with a 3-light casement window. All windows throughout the building are small pane casements.

Highfield Infants School was built as part of a group with Highfield Junior School, and Widdows was known for his innovative ideas on school planning and ventilation.