Neighbourhood hall


“Just a short note to say if anybody wishes to see the type of work SCABAL are able to deliver please visit my daughter’s school St Jude & St Paul’s in Dalston, where they have just finished the new hall and extension. The work is exemplary and visionary and I believe we are extremely lucky to have them onboard”.


Alan West (Parent, Christ Church Spitalfield CE Primary School Governor) March 2011




When St Jude and St Paul’s CE Primary School moved into their new premises in 2005, they found themselves a part of a brand new kind of school building – arranged beneath flats, funded by the mix of use.

Squeezed into a tight site with limited access, the new ground floor school was left with a small hall and a tiny triangular playground against the railway with no views out or in.

Having been buried for a while, the school’s now peeping out for everyone to see, a grand order butterscotch dolls house, a big stage for all sorts.




The new main hall aims to provide the school with what’s missing – a central gathering space with wide open views to the church and streets, a fully accessible space for extended use by the community, a proud and welcoming face to the neighbourhood, a big heart for the school and a new identity.

The gently faceted shape of the hall, the orientation of its big window and the high level of acoustic insulation pay respect to the immediate neighbours.

Inside, the 7.5m high window wall provides natural daylight throughout, whilst the rising geometry encourages fresh air to be naturally circulated through three automated ventilation chimneys at the apex. With its high levels of thermal insulation and low temperature underfloor heating, the hall uses little energy and can be run from the services in the existing school. The acoustic ceiling is engineered to hear either whole school assemblies, small classes or the in-time kiai! of fifty after school karate kids.

The new hall’s a healthy, low-energy, multi-purpose environment for a diverse range of users at all times, steeped in the sustainable school ethos.





Project  ST JUDE & ST PAUL'S NEW MAIN HALL, St Jude & St Paul's CE Primary School,
                 10 Kingsbury Rd, Islington, London N1 4AZ

Client  GOVERNORS OF ST JUDE & ST PAUL’S C OF E PRIMARY SCHOOL and
              THE LONDON DIOCESAN BOARD FOR SCHOOLS

Accommodation  NEW HALL AT FIRST FLOOR
              Accessible WC, platform lift, stores, Crosslam stair
                 REFURBISHED MULTI-PURPOSE GROUND FLOOR STUDIO
                    NEW FULL SERVICE KITCHEN 

Contract Value  £800,000 

Procurement  Traditional: Intermediate Building Contract with Contractors Design (Revision 2 2009) 

Programme  Outline / Detailed Proposals: Sep 2009
              Planning Submission: November 2009
                 Planning Permission granted: April 2010
                    On-site construction: April 2010- March 2011

Team  Headteacher: Marjorie Wood
              London Diocesan Board for Schools Principal Buildings & Development Officer: Steve White
                 Architect: SCABAL
                    Quantity Surveyors: Sawyer & Fisher
                       Structures Engineers: Alan Conisbee & Associates Ltd
                          Acoustic Engineers: Paul Gillieron Acoustic Design
                             Building Services Engineers: Services Projects Engineers Ltd
                                CDM co-ordinator: Glenny
                                   Contractor: Ash Contracting Ltd

References  Marjorie Wood: Headteacher e admin@st-jude-st-pauls.islington.sch.uk t 020 7254 5598
              Alan West (Parent, Christ Church Spitalfield CE Primary School Governor) e alan@trombe.co.uk t 020 7684 1065