The Hawthorns School is a new 70-place school for students aged 7–16 with high-presenting autism. The single-storey development includes landscaped grounds, parking, a student drop-off area, and residential accommodation for 10 students. Working with the school trust, the principles of : Choice, Calm and Clarity, have been applied throughout.
The school was designed as single storey, to support ease of movement to a variety of external landscape areas, from each learning space. It was important that each classroom provide the choice of access to external and alternative internal spaces. Based around two enclosed courtyards, the plan allows dining and specialist teaching to have dedicated, sheltered space for student use, while classrooms surround the perimeter of the plan and access play spaces designed for different age groups and key stages.
Education
The SEAX Trust, The Department for Education and Kier
Chelmsford, UK
£13m
2025
Another consideration was providing students with choice of entry to the school. While the main entrance – a large, double height reception – can welcome visitors, students can also enter the school through purposefully smaller side entrances, which reduce transitional anxiety, and if required, straight into their classroom.
Many pupils at Hawthorns have language and social interaction challenges, so care was taken to provide clarity of space. Clear circulation routes throughout the school are enhanced by natural light from internal courtyards, offering improved wayfinding and a safe, legible layout that supports independent navigation for students. While the colour scheme of the school is consistent, zones of shared spaces, including dining, sport and specialist teaching, were colour zoned with floor finishes and doors, to indicate a change to students and visitors. PECs signage and wayfinding, which is a symbol-based form of communication, was thoughtfully incorporated across the building, alongside written text.
Rooted in the school’s nature-focused curriculum, the design promotes wellbeing through strong connections to the outdoors. Internal courtyards support outdoor dining and specialist learning while enhancing circulation spaces with natural light and visual stimulation—creating a calm, engaging environment tailored to students’ needs.
Consultation with the school gave insight into the sensory and therapeutic needs of the students and a variety of therapy spaces are provided across the school, including library, quiet, sensory, vestibular and soft play rooms.
The multipurpose spaces such as the courtyards and vocational spaces are versatile, ensuring long term efficiency for the school as the design will support evolving SEN practices. Considered material choices also offer the school longevity, requiring minimal maintenance through durability and robust detailing.
''Haverstock were a delight to work with in the design of our autism specific school. Anna, specifically, was attentive and focused on client need whilst working within required parameters, always professional and with an eye for the details and implications that we as clients may have missed.
Haverstock were a truly collaborative and responsive team to work with; they were second to none and consistent throughout the team in their eagerness, creativity and solution focused approach.
Their professional investment and desire to build a school fit for a very specific client group was supported by extensive experience in special school design. I always felt reassured and confident in their knowledge of processes and implications of specific design items as they came up with creative solutions around tricky issues and pointed out implications of design features without prejudice.''
