Inspired Education
What began as a four-school Easter programme has evolved into a long-term partnership supporting Inspired Education’s growing UK estate.
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Location
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Sectors
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Services
Exceptional learning environments don’t stand still.
As Inspired Education continues to invest across its UK schools, every improvement needs to balance design quality and long-term thinking with one immovable deadline: pupils need to be able to learn.
AIS was initially appointed to deliver an Easter refurbishment programme across four London schools, refreshing 35 classrooms within a tightly defined holiday window. Successful delivery opened the door to a further nine schools that summer and the start of a much wider relationship. Today, AIS supports Inspired Education across London and Berkshire, delivering everything from classroom refurbishments and bespoke teaching environments to complex building reconfigurations and estate improvements.
As the partnership has grown, so has AIS’s role. Design, pre-construction and delivery now sit within one integrated team, building knowledge from one school to the next while responding to the individual needs of every site.
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Size
100,000 sq ft (across 12 schools)
Where the partnership began
The relationship began with a clear challenge: refresh 35 classrooms across four London schools during the Easter break, without compromising the quality of the finished spaces or the date pupils returned.
New lighting, flooring and finishes transformed teaching environments, while existing joinery was carefully repaired and reused wherever possible. It established a considered approach that balanced investment in the new with making more of what each school already had.
From that first programme, the relationship quickly expanded. AIS went on to deliver works across a further nine schools during the following summer, coordinating multiple projects simultaneously and ensuring each was ready for the start of term.
With every completed school came a deeper understanding of Inspired Education’s estate, its operational pressures and the standards required creating a delivery model that has continued to evolve ever since.
Reworking the school experience
At Parsons Green Prep, the brief went beyond classroom refurbishment to rethink key parts of the wider school environment.
A new entrance lobby creates a stronger sense of arrival, while relocated administration areas, upgraded stairwells and reconfigured classrooms and welfare facilities make better use of the building.
Behind the visible transformation, extensive lighting and life-safety improvements were delivered alongside new fire-compliant door sets, bringing together design, compliance and functionality within one coordinated programme.
The result reflects how the wider Inspired Education relationship has evolved: from targeted refurbishments towards more comprehensive interventions shaped around how each individual school operates.
Creating better places to learn
At St Anthony’s School for Boys, the focus turned to the everyday spaces that shape the experience of pupils and staff. Classrooms were comprehensively refurbished alongside circulation spaces and washroom facilities, creating a more considered and cohesive environment throughout the school.
The project also demonstrates an approach that has become central to the wider programme. Rather than applying the same solution everywhere, AIS works around the character, priorities and practical requirements of each school, while maintaining a consistent standard across the Inspired Education estate.
That thinking extends into the details. As the relationship has developed, bespoke Teacher’s Walls, created alongside Joyce & Reddington, have brought storage, display and teaching technology together into a single integrated feature, supporting modern teaching while making better use of classroom space.
Transformation without standing still
At Drake House, part of Reddam House in Berkshire, the challenge is different again: transforming a boarding environment while it remains occupied. Works are carefully phased across the boys’ and girls’ accommodation, allowing students to move into completed areas while construction progresses elsewhere in the building. It demands detailed planning, clear communication and a delivery programme built around the people continuing to use the space.
The project marks another step forward in the relationship between AIS and Inspired Education, demonstrating the flexibility to move from fast-paced holiday refurbishments to more complex, phased projects within live education environments.
