In a series celebrating BD’s Architect of the Year Awards finalists, we look at the Education (nursery - 6th form) Architect of the Year shortlist
Earlier this year BD announced all the architects who made it on to the shortlists for our prestigious annual Architect of the Year Awards.
Now we are shining the spotlight on each category in turn and publishing a selection of the images that impressed the judges.
This year’s judges include: Yẹmí Aládérun, head of development, Meridian Water (Enfield Council); Amr Assaad, director, Buckley Gray Yeoman; Lee Bennet, partner, Sheppard Robson; Sarah Cary, chief development officer, White City at Imperial; Ben Derbyshire, chair, HTA Design LLP; Martyn Evans, creative director, U+I; Dicle Guntas, managing director, HGG London; Gavin Hale-Brown, director, Henley Halebrown; Tanvir Hasan, director emeritus, Donald Insall Associates; Lee Higson, board director, Eric Parry Architects; David Kohn, founder and director, David Kohn Architects; Oliver Lowrie, director and founder, Ackroyd Lowrie; Anna Mansfield, director, Publica; Jo McCafferty, director, Levitt Bernstein; Ian McKnight, director, Hall McKnight; John McRae, director, Orms; Andrew Mellor, partner, PRP; Sadie Morgan, director, dRMM; Setareh Neshati, director of regeneration and development – delivery and operations, Westminster City Council; David Partridge, co-founder, Senze; Manisha Patel, director, kpk Studios; Sarah Robinson, associate director, The King’s Foundation; Simon Saint, principal, Woods Bagot; Philippa Simpson, director for buildings and renewal, Barbican Centre; David Stansfield, senior partner, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios; Amin Taha, director, Groupwork; Magali Thomson, project lead for placemaking, Great Ormond Street Hospital; Ola Uduku, head of school, Liverpool School of Architecture; Tatiana von Preussen, co-founder, vPPR; Richard Wardle, director, Stanton Williams.
Today’s shortlist is for Education (nursery - 6th form) Architect of the Year.
AHR
AHR’s entry includes the UK’s largest Passivhaus-certified education building. Located in Fife, Woodmill and St Columba’s RC High School co-locates two distinct secondary schools, with shared central facilities. The submission also includes two Department for Education GenZero pathfinder projects - ultra-low carbon schools with mass timber, replicable modular principles, and biophilia. The entry is completed by Silverwood SEND School in Wiltshire. Here, classrooms make the most of the woodland context by connecting to sensory-rich outdoor areas.
alma-nac Collaborative Architecture
alma-nac’s projects emphasise stakeholder-engagement, environmental performance, and long-term adaptability. Its entry features the £5.5 new-build Lower School Library at Dulwich College, the repurposing of a former health clinic in Penge into a school for children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs, and the conversion of an osteopath’s surgery into a nursery school. The practice is also working directly with 25 schools to reduce energy use as part of the Net Zero Accelerator Pathfinder.
IID Architects
IID’s entry ranges in scale from Manor Lodge Hive, a glulam extension for early years pupils in Hertfordshire, to a new secondary school for 630 pupils. The latter, Thomas’s College in Richmond, is a repurposing of a Grade II listed college previously used by the American University in London. The submission also includes an innovation hub at the Notre Dame school in Cobham and a multi-use sports hall for the ACS International School in Hillingdon.
Jestico + Whiles
The practice, which last year completed its 100th school, prides itself on developing collaborative, long-lasting relationships with clients, collaborators, staff and students alike. At St Paul’s Girls’ School, it designed a £23million Centre for Design and Innovation to support project-based, interdisciplinary learning. Ongoing projects include a £35million further education college under construction in Stanmore, and an independent school in Croydon. Overseas, projects include The Lighthouse School SEND school in the Cayman Islands.
Kennedy Woods Architecture
Nurseries and prep school expansions comprise the entry from Kennedy Woods Architecture, a south London practice specialising in the education sector. Projects include work for German nursery operator Kinderzimmer and N Family Club nursery partner, a masterplan and reception expansion for St Christopher’s School in Hampstead, and new buildings for St David’s School in Bromley. The practice last year launched the Collective Intelligence platform, which provides insights, news and design ideas for education leaders.
>> Also read: AYA 2025 shortlists: Best Architect Employer of the Year
>> Also read: UK Design Capital of the Year: How Manchester is setting the pace for regeneration and urban living
Postscript
The Architect of the Year Awards 2025 are on Wednesday, 15 October 2025 at the Marriott Grosvenor Square, Grosvenor Sq, London, W1K 6JP.
Book your place here.
No comments yet