Futher Comments Raised by Participants
CDT Workshop Further Comments
The concrete floor surface has been removed to make it less slippery. [Environmental Sustainability Designers]
It is quite good that the storeroom is (there) for teachers. [S6]
There is plenty of space. [S6]
The layout gives room to move. [S6]
There are plenty of tools. [S6]
CDT Design Department Further Comments
The design department is among the three best features because it has 2 workshops and big classes. [S5]
Graphic drawing is really good. [S6]
There are plenty of computers for the whole class. [S6]
Design is used for displaying student work to prospective students. [S6]
Home Economics Further Comments
It is in good condition. [Project Team]
Half the class are facing away from the teacher. [Project Team]
Normally we keep the windowsills higher to avoid splashback. [Project Team]
Perhaps gas cookers should be away from windows to avoid flames blowing out. [Project Team]
Classrooms are slightly smaller than standard. [Project Team]
The lights are too bright. [S3]
The classroom is nice and big. There is a lot of space. [S4]
Practical Rooms Further Comments
There is peninsula furniture at the perimeter of office quality. [Council]
The teachers were consulted. [Council]
There are adequate facilities for teaching and learning. [Council]
The practical rooms are among the best aspects of the school, including science, home economics, IT, business studies, graphic communications, craft and design having plenty of teaching space and equipment for all pupils. [Council]
Music Room Further Comments
The sloping roof works well; it takes it away from the norm. [Project Team]
The music room is among the nicest in the school. [Project Team]
Structural steel (penetrations) makes it difficult to get an acoustic rating on the walls. [Project Team]
The music room is among the three best features because it has lots of good equipment. [S5]
Science Technician Room Further Comments
The science technicians' room is a great room. [Support Staff]
It is a great room. [Support Staff]
It is an absolutely super room. [Support Staff]
The view is beautiful. [Support Staff]
It has well equipped benches, Dexion shelving and a fume cupboard. [Support Staff]
The position of the technicians' room would be better in the middle of the science rooms. [Support Staff]
Management Area Further Comments
The conference room isn't big enough to hold all the management team. [Teachers Group 3]
There are no issues. [Support Staff]
There is plenty of room. [Support Staff]
It is good to have an adjoining door to the head teacher' office. [Support Staff]
It has a good outlook. [Support Staff]
There is a lot of storage in the senior management corridor. [Support Staff]
Administration Office Further Comments
All the teachers come in the administration office in the morning, so it is very congested. [Support Staff]
They took away the light from the printing room because it was interfering with the machine. [Support Staff]
Small Gym Further Comments
It can fit a class. [S2]
You can play basketball and table tennis. [S2]
You can use this gym when there is another class using the other. [S2]
There is a storeroom and a lower ceiling so balls get stuck in the beams. It is cooler. [S2]
It is quite echo-ee. [S5]
It is good for table tennis and gym, but the ceiling is too low for basketball, volleyball or badminton. [S5]
There is only one games room. [S6]
If trampolines were removed from the dance studio, girls who dance could use it. [S6]
The little gym is ideal for line dancing. A lot of our work is building confidence. Being able to relate to other people who have had a similar experience is important. [Community Group]
Modern Languages Class Further Comments
This is cool (attractive) - colourful. [S3]
There are decent chairs. They have got something to put your back on. [S3]
It has got space. [S3]
There are enough places to work. [S3]
Site Perimeter Further Comments
There is no perimeter fence and I think there should be for all schools. [Council]
A modern school needs a fence. [Managers]
Exterior Presentation Further Comments
I like the use of different paint colours. [Environmental Sustainability Designers]
It looks nice. It is similar to Grahams High School in Falkirk. [S2]
It looks nice. [S5]
It is quite attractive in comparison to Grahams High, because it is imposing and has a good outlook. [Teachers Group 3]
It all looks nice and you can see everything. [S4]
I hate the look of the building from the outside because the metal roofs look cheap. There is a problem with downpipes and gutters leaking. There must be a lot of water penetration. [Managers]
Facilities in General Further Comments
Being big, compared with other high schools, is among the three best features. [S2]
Computer, PE and music facilities are among the three best features. [S4]
Classroom Communications Further Comments
The Tannoy is very intrusive. It can come on all around the school for any person at any time. [Teachers Group 3]
Having phones in every class is among the three best features, except for the Tannoy. [Teachers Group 3]
Clocks should be at the front of the classes so the teacher doesn't reprimand you for turning around to look at it. [S4]
You can't hear the bell in the social space. [S4]
Some Tannoy aren't loud enough, or they are too loud. [S4]
Exams Further Comments
The whole PE area is too small. There is nowhere to go when exams are on. [S6]
There is only one big hall and it is used for exams. [S6]
It is a fully ducted mechanical ventilation system to allow the gym to be used for exams. [Project Team]
It is always noisy in exams in the small gym. [S5]
In the small gym exams you get disturbed by outside noise, especially during lunchtime and PE. [S5]
There is no exam hall; we have to schedule six classes for listening (language) exams. We can't have them all in the exam room because of acoustics. [Teachers Group 3]
PE classes have to be displaced to hold exams. [Teachers Group 3]
Exam timetabling is difficult. [Teachers Group 3]
We are subject to exams. Last week one room was out of action. [Community Group]
Facilities Management Further Comments
The lack of school control over facilities is among the three worst features. [Teachers Group 1]
It took six weeks of constant badgering to get a screen removed; (which took) 10-15 minutes work. [Teachers Group 3]
You have to buy really expensive notice boards and pay a fortune to get them installed. [Managers]
Bus Area Further Comments
Cars park on the bus turning circle. [Council]
The bus area is separated and looks like it works very well. [Environmental Sustainability Designers]
The bus bay is a waste of space. [S3]
The bus bay being small for the number of buses is among the three worst features. [S2]
There are buses coming in. They go quite fast. [Teachers Group 2]
You don't hang about in the bus area. [S6]
The bus bay is fine because it is out of the way. [S6]
Cars are parked in the bus turning circle. [Teachers Group 3]
The bus area gets crowded. There are traffic jams. [S4]
The bus park is good because it is out of the road. [S4]
The route in is quite good and turning and bus bay is excellent. [Managers]
The bus bay is among the best aspects of the school because of the location, layout and safety. [Managers]