Based in Peckham, South London we examined how schools and educational institutions provide sanctuaries for learning and enlightenment, well-being and play. These ‘islands’ in the city provide shelter for the youngest and most vulnerable of our society and they are places where local communities come together.

The design of edge conditions was critical to our research and we considered typologies of edge building and transition space – gatehouses, arcades and foyers, which can be used to stitch schools into the surrounding urban fabric. To conclude students designed a Middle School in Peckham that created new connections between younger and older children, neighbouring schools and local communities.