Warblington Secondary School

Warblington Secondary School

A secondary school built in 1955-6 by Richard Sheppard and Geoffrey Robson with assistance from the Hampshire County Architects Department.

The school comprises interconnected blocks of two and three storeys, constructed with steel frames and shallow-pitched roofs. The buildings are clad predominantly in corrugated-aluminium sheeting, with regular prefabricated aluminium-framed window units positioned above corrugated-aluminium spandrel panels, typically coloured blue. The single-storey sections have flat roofs and are similarly constructed using prefabricated aluminium-framed units with corrugated-aluminium cladding. All blocks have concrete plinths and internal concrete floors.

The plan arranges a three-storey classroom block aligned roughly north-south, connected by an axial corridor to a single-storey reception hall at the north end. The two-storey science block, originally separate but now connected, is aligned east-west, with a single-storey mathematics unit wrapping around its eastern end. Within the multi-storey blocks, classrooms and laboratories are stacked vertically. The three-storey block has two stairwells linking the rear playground to axial corridors on each floor, while the science block has a central primary stairwell serving laboratories on each level. The staff room is currently located on the ground floor rear of the three-storey block.

The three-storey classroom block displays an exposed frame of 15 by 6 bays with symmetrical elevations and wider outer bays on the long sides. Continuous fenestration spans most elevations except at the wider outer and inner bays. The corrugated-aluminium cladding in spandrel panels and vertical panels of the outer half-bays contrasts with narrower-gauge corrugated storey-bands and gable ends. The road-facing eastern elevation features a recessed three-bay centrepiece on the ground floor, infilled on the upper floors with timber window units and spandrel panels. The rear western elevation has shallower window units in the wider sixth and tenth bays. Windows are predominantly two-light aluminium-framed units combining fixed lights with side-hung and pivot-hung casements. Rear door units have been replaced in uPVC. The roof is clad in corrugated metal with oversailing eaves.

The single-storey reception hall at the north end has walls formed of prefabricated units with integrated aluminium-framed windows beneath a continuous corrugated-aluminium fascia. The east-facing main elevation features clerestory windows from the slightly taller corridor behind the front office range. At the south-west angle, a set-back entrance is supported on a slender outer shaft and lined in vertical corrugated-aluminium sheeting with a shallow blue corrugated-aluminium fascia. Some window units have been replaced with different patterns and a uPVC door unit.

The two-storey science block follows similar form and construction to the three-storey block, with 12 by 6 bays, a wider bay accommodating the stairwell, and wide blind panels at each end. A single-storey mathematics block projects from its eastern gable and extends south. The walls use prefabricated units with integrated aluminium-framed single windows, topped by a continuous narrower-gauge corrugated-aluminium fascia and below-spandrel corrugated-aluminium panels.

The interior is functional in character. Stairs are of masonry with plain steel balustrades. Doors are generally flush-panelled, some with rectangular windows.