Many school buildings play an important role in adding to local character. They are often an integral part of local identity; they represent a powerful sense of community through the shared experiences and memories they engender, while many continue to act as a social hub through their secondary uses such as community, sports or life-long learning actitivities. The result is that school buildings are often an anchor-point within their community, both in terms of their physical location but also in the way they are regarded and valued by local people that goes far beyond their original educational purpose.

English Heritage has been supportive of the Government Building Schools for the Future programme since its inception, and we recognise the modernisation opportunities and benefits offered by the largest investment programme in living memory. We have also been mindful of the need for change to ensure that schools continue to represent the best possible learning environment for their students. Nevertheless, the level of funding attached to the current investment programmes allied to their objectives of renewing the vast majority of the existing stock of school buildings has obvious implications for historic school buildings, be they listed, within conservation areas or simply buildings that are liked and valued by their local community.

English Heritage has therefore produced The Future of Historic School Buildings to set out our position. This document identifies a series of case studies in which imaginative and innovative approaches to the future use of historic school buildings has produced positive and successful outcomes. These include updating and refurbishment, adaptation, extension and conversion to a new use. The position statement also contains a checklist for historic school buildings which is a helpful tool to use when developing policy and proposals in this area, while we have also produced a model brief to help local authorities to undertake assessments of the historic and architectural significance of their school estate.