GIGGLESWICK School’s multi-million pound boarding refurbishment project was shortlisted in the prestigious British Boarding Schools Association (BSA) annual awards.

The independent school’s upgrade of Nowell House, phase one of an ongoing boarding facilities improvement scheme, reached the final three in the Boarding Refurbishment and Extension Award for 2019.

The honour acknowledges the work that schools have put in to provide pupils with an exceptional place to live, study and play.

The project, completed in September 2018, was the result of extensive collaboration with pupils, staff, architects and interior designers to create a new leading-edge model of family-friendly boarding at Giggleswick.

Headteacher Mark Turnbull, said “We wanted to create a house environment that would make a tangible difference to the lives of our students and staff. Our challenge has been to ‘future proof’ our provision to meet the changing needs of families and the expectation of our pupils.

“We have better organised our accommodation to maintain the integrity of house structures while allowing flexibility in the way space is used to provide the best home from home experience for everyone from full to flexi boarders and day pupils.

“We are delighted and extremely proud to be recognised by the BSA for our project, which has impressed the judges with its quality.”

The redesign is now more reflective of a family home where pupils spend their day on the lower floor of the house - in the living areas, kitchen space, individual and shared studies. In the evenings, boarders go upstairs to bedrooms on the upper ‘boarding floor’, which extends across three different houses, all contained within Giggleswick’s main building. Two adjacent houses are next in line for refurbishment and the ‘boarding floor’ will expand as part of this rolling programme.

Giggleswick was shortlisted for the award alongside Brighton College and St Leonard’s. All three schools were praised for demonstrating excellence in design, innovation and sustainability in their projects. The final award was presented to Brighton College at the BSA Annual Conference in front of an audience made up of delegates from the UK’s leading independent schools.