What was the project brief?
Hillview School for Girls, located in Tonbridge, Kent is a school for girls between the ages of 11 and 18. This popular school takes a contemporary approach to catering provision and has a retro-style polished chrome trailer located in the school’s grounds serving snacks to the pupils during the school day. They contacted A&S Landscape to ask for some help in devising a shelter solution to be located outside this stylish snack pod to allow the girls to eat outdoors. The specific brief they had was to design something modern and sleek to complement the pod and the surrounding area.

What was the shade sail solution?
To meet the project brief, they knew that the steel shelter frame and canopy cover both needed to fit with the on-trend design of the snack pod. A&S Landscape proposed using a Maxima StarSail™ from the Maxima fabric range. The StarSail, is, without doubt, a truly contemporary design. Not only does it give a fun sail effect to the canopy architecture, but it also acts as an umbrella to shelter the area underneath from rain and harmful sun rays.

Focused around a single central canopy pole, the cutting edge design is both fun, but at the same time, inordinately practical. This particular project was completed in ‘Squirrel Grey’ (RAL 7000) steelwork with a vibrant red ‘Poppy’ coloured canopy from the range of fabric choices.

What was the result of the new shade sail canopy?
The utilisation of waterproof fabric for the sail canvas has provided Hillview School for Girls with the shelter solution they wanted to enable the pupils to dine outside after they’ve collected their orders from the snack pod. Not only that, but they have created a really cheerful-feeling space with the bright triangular sail floating above this area of shelter. It’s now a great place for the girls to socialise in, whatever the weather conditions.

It’s generated a real buzz about the existing dining space, and the sail cover works especially well with the funky chrome snack trailer, bringing the whole space together perfectly.

About the client
Hillview School for Girls is located in the market town of Tonbridge in Kent. They attained academy status in 2012 and are a recognised Performing Arts College. As well as delivering secondary education to girls between the ages of 11 and 18 years, the school also has a mixed Sixth Form. The school was recognised in Tatler in 2017 as amongst the best state secondary schools in the country.

Hillview School for Girls offers a varied curriculum to its pupils. It also has some fantastic facilities including state of the art science laboratories, a sports hall, dance and drama studios and a cinema. The school is a busy campus, even operating on Saturdays during term time, when a Performing Arts School timetable operates including Drama, Musical Theatre and Dance. It even offers Toddler Ballet!

Why invest in a shade sail canopy?
The versatility of a waterproof shade sail means that it brings a range of benefits to a school, college or public attraction space. With a Maxima StarSail™ from A&S Landscape you can be sure of:

• Durable canopy architecture and timeless design
• The longest product guarantees on the market
• A design plan that is tailored to your specific space and project brief
• As well as offering a waterproof shelter solution, a Maxima StarSail™ will also act as a sun shield sail. You may be surprised by how much your new sail attracts people looking for cover on hot, sunny days.
• A customisable product with a range of design features such as bespoke colouring and the option to choose a standalone product, or a group of sails for an even more eye-catching effect.
• The option to add more matching canopies at a later date. Or maybe even choose to add another canopy with a contrasting shade colour for an even more eye-catching design.