Avoniel Primary School, Avoniel Road, Belfast, County Antrim, BT5 4SF

Avoniel Primary School is a two-storey modernist school built in 1933 to designs by Education Architect Reginald S. Wilshere. It is located on Avoniel Road off Beersbridge Road in East Belfast, situated within a setting of two-storey residential terraces, with playing fields to the south and an enclosed garden area to the rear bounded by palisade fencing.

The building has a linear floor plan with single-storey curved wings at the end facades. The main structure is built of red brick laid to Yorkshire (Monk) bond with a projected moulded granite plinth and a hipped pan-tile roof with clay ridge and hip tiles, partially parapetted to the front elevation. Cast-iron rainwater goods with decorative hopper-heads are retained.

The front facade faces south and is asymmetrically arranged, dominated by a strong vertical rhythm of fenestration. The uniform arrangement comprises bays, each made up of three ground and first floor windows with a recessed stacked soldier panel between and a centrally located door accessing the playground. A double-height symmetrical entrance bay positioned left of centre breaks the facade rhythm, resulting in four bays to the left and twelve to the right. The entrance bay contains double leaf doors centrally located at ground floor level, surrounded by moulded surrounds and topped with a cantilevered step-moulded canopy with three-tiered diminished projected planes separated by horizontal glazed strips. Above the canopy is an embedded sandstone carving by George McCann depicting "Education reclining below the tree of knowledge". At first floor level of the entrance bay are triplet vertical windows with six panes each. To either side of the fenestration, the parapet drops over a double height blank bay with a single square window at ground floor, each displaying a metal screen depicting an elephant. The windows throughout are vertical timber casements with horizontal glazing bars and continuous masonry cills to the ground floor. Replacement timber doors feature a solid lower panel with three upper glazed panels.

The west elevation is abutted at ground floor level by a single-storey flat-roofed curved block with continuous diminished vertical windows; the north cheek extends to accommodate a secondary entrance and ancillary accommodation. Five narrow horizontal windows feature at first floor level. The east elevation matches the west.

The rear elevation faces north and comprises an asymmetrical double height flat-roofed projection extending the full length of the facade, presenting a uniformly arranged series of glazed double-leaf doors opening to external areas, with decorative metal grilles of geometric design above and a continuous horizontal window at first floor. A replacement assembly hall dating from circa 1970 and further single-storey modern extensions are located at the far ends; these are of no significant interest.

Modern alterations include ground floor windows that have been boarded up, a modern ramp and handrail providing access to an entrance on the right which now operates as the main entrance, and modern mobile units to the south east. The site is accessed via gated piers with metal railings over a low wall bounding the site to the west.