Morgans Junior School

The Morgan's Junior School, originally for infants and juniors and now used only by juniors, was built between 1948 and 1949 by the Hertfordshire County Council Architect's Department, with Bruce Martin as job architect. Brenda Colvin was responsible for the landscaping. The school is an important example of a prefabricated school constructed using a cold-rolled steel system, perfected in conjunction with Ernest Hinchcliffe of Hills and Co., West Bromwich, based on an 8' 3" grid, and clad with glass, steel, and concrete panels. Flat concrete roofs are covered with felt. The layout is informal, arranged around a high assembly hall and a lower space shared by the entrance hall and a partially screened dining hall. All classrooms face south. The former infants' wing contains smaller classrooms with projecting areas for sinks and paints, each having a teacher's store, leading to a broad cloakroom and corridor area. The junior rooms are arranged in two sections; those for the younger children feature clerestory glazing, also found in the corridors. The corridors incorporate low, fixed cloakroom racks and dividers. Exposed framing is visible on the ceilings.

Morgan's Road school represents a cohesive and well-preserved example of the Hertfordshire County Council’s prefabricated school system, developed in 1945-7. Hertfordshire County Council pioneered prefabrication in school construction to address a population boom and to create a more child-centred environment for teaching young children. This school is notable from the late 1940s, a period when the system was well-developed but before many members of the design team joined the Ministry of Education or the London County Council. Its proximity to the Architect's Department at County Hall resulted in particular attention being given to the scheme. The arrangement of the separate infants' and juniors' wings flanking the central hall is particularly well considered. A distinguishing feature at Morgan's Walk is the projection of some of the infants' classrooms, creating a separate play area and enhancing the stepped profile of the building, which rises to the central entrance hall. Clerestories on the lower wings add visual interest to the rooflines and provide diffused top lighting. The Building Research Station advised on the original colour schemes, which initially included red and blue steelwork externally, primary colours for the classrooms, and more neutral browns and greys for the hall.