What was the project brief?
The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College is located in the market town of Rugby, Warwickshire, West Midlands. The school’s catering facilities offer breakfast, mid-morning and lunch service, so it’s a busy part of the school.

As with many large comprehensives, as pupil numbers increase, the squeeze on a school’s facilities can become challenging. The project brief from The Avon Valley School was to help them to find a solution to the issue of space related to canteen service. A&S Landscape was asked if they could explore this issue further and help the school to find an alternative solution which would help to make the service more efficient, for both the staff and students.

What was their dining area canopy solution?
The issue of pressure created by the demand at mealtimes is one that many schools and colleges face. A&S Landscape has considerable experience in this area. This expertise was put to play with this project and their design team created a plan for an outdoor dining area canopy.

In order to make the space usable all year-round, it was important to think about a waterproof solution. This is the best way to protect the pupils who would be using the space from all of the weather’s elements. As a result, the design produced by their team featured waterproof side panels. To create the design, they utilised Motiva Linear™ product range. This product, with its monopitch straight roof design, enables a versatile and flexible construction. For The Avon Valley School, there was a requirement to create a free standing canopy offering shelter over a considerable 20 metre by 8 metre footprint.

The Avon Valley School selected from the wide range of steel colours on offer from the A&S range. They decided upon Gentian Blue (RAL 5010) and chose Opal polycarbonate for the roofing material. The nature of this style of canopy cover means that it is suitable for the addition of unbreakable side panels. Located in a part of the school where it is possible that footballs might be being kicked about, this was an essential health and safety requirement. However, the side panel options available in the Motiva Linear™ range offer a range of other in-fill choices.

What was the result of their new dining canopy?
One of the key effects of installing a structure like a dining area canopy is that you are able to see immediate results. With quick and efficient installation, once a free standing canopy such as this has been installed, it’s ready for use. The end result is therefore immediate, and the challenge of pressure on high use areas during mealtimes is removed.

The Avon Valley School now have an extensive free standing canopy which offers additional dining space during the breakfast, mid-morning and lunchtime services. However, it is also available outside of these times as an additional resource for teaching or playground shelter. Not only has the school resolved the mealtime issue, but it has also added value to its estate by creating a well-protected, practical and multi-functional space.

About the client
The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College is a large establishment serving the community of Rugby. The school is popular and finds it is regularly over-subscribed. With specialist status as a Performing Arts school, they dedicate 10% of their intake to pupils with aptitude in dance, drama or music. Among their alumni is Emile Ruddock who is now a West End Star. Earlier in 2020, Emile visited his old school to provide inspiration to the pupils on what can be achieved as a result of studying at the school.

The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College’s investment in their infrastructure with their new dining canopy, will no doubt enhance the experience of life at the school for the budding singers, dancers and musicians of the future.

Why invest in a dining canopy?
The experience that every pupil has of school life is important. Ensuring that this experience is positive is therefore vital. Investing in a dining canopy, like The Avon Valley School, shows a commitment to improving the school environment and therefore the pupils’ experience.

Headteachers and school business managers are accountable for every penny that they spend on their school’s infrastructure. Investing in a canopy structure that offers multi-functional use and enhanced pupil experience is a great way to show the value that can be added by not only resolving one issue but creating extra opportunities for positive pupil engagement.

They can help to implement innovative ideas and systems. The Avon Valley School responded to feedback from parents about the length of queues and the time spent by children wanting to buy food at mealtimes. They implemented a ‘grab and go’ scheme where food is pre-ordered for collection. Their new dining area canopy supports this innovation by providing substantial space for the pupils to go, once they have collected their orders.

The Benefits of Eating Outdoors and The Impact on Mental Health
There is a lot of research that indicates the benefits of spending time outside; easing heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones and muscle tension. It can even uplift your mood. Enhancements in attention, memory and concentration have also been affirmed.

How does this effect children in school? Well, being inside for the majority of the day is connected to increased anxiety and depression. Couple this with the attract of computer games and social media at home and you can see how necessary it is to offer children as many opportunities to be outdoors during the school day as possible.

Spending time outdoors raises Vitamin D levels (an important hormone that helps to protect against a collection of diseases such as osteoporosis, depression, heart attacks and stroke). It is presented in studies that many of us do not get an adequate amount of this important vitamin, so more time outside is fundamental to help tackle this deficiency.

Continue reading their blog post to learn how schools can combat this issue and help their students to spend more time outdoors.

Why choose A&S Landscape for your dining area canopy?
A&S Landscape has extensive experience of working with schools and colleges to create innovative and practical shelter solutions. Clients are able to select products from their list of extensive brands. This means that, with the additional benefit of their design expertise, they are guaranteed to get the very best solution to address their specific needs.

They have helped a vast number of schools and colleges to address the challenge of creating additional dining space. Whether the challenge has been a lack of space to build additional capacity or difficulties in creating a new space between existing buildings, they have been able to identify a solution. Details of some of the dining area projects, and the different canopy architecture used, can be seen on their website.

Regardless of the challenges facing your potential project, they can explore the options and create a solution tailored to your needs. Find out more about the options for your custom canopy by contacting their friendly team today.