Oaklands College – High Needs Centre

The High Needs Centre is a specialist facility for students aged 16–19 with complex educational needs at Oaklands College’s. Replacing outdated accommodation within the existing Discovery building, it will provide a purpose-built SEND environment with the medical, therapy and specialist teaching spaces needed to support high-quality learning. Located opposite the Evolution Centre and adjacent to the Creative Gateway, the building is designed to offer clear, welcoming and well-supported spaces for students, staff and families. 

The High Needs Centre forms part of the wider regeneration of Oaklands College’s St Albans campus. Once a manor house and former agricultural college, the campus has evolved over time through an assortment of teaching buildings set within its grounds. Although a highly successful college, much of the estate is no longer fit for purpose and needs renewal to meet modern expectations. The wider masterplan responds by introducing nine new buildings, connected by landscape improvements that enhance the Green Belt setting and group departments and student-focused uses around a new college square. Within this wider framework, the High Needs Centre will replace outdated accommodation within the Discovery building with a purpose-built specialist facility designed to provide the medical, therapy and teaching spaces needed for students with complex educational needs.

The High Needs Centre is designed as a purpose-built SEND facility that will provide high-quality learning environments for students with complex educational needs. Replacing undersized and outdated accommodation, the building is intended to support a more appropriate model of learning, care and daily routine, with teaching, therapy and specialist support spaces brought together in one clear and legible environment. 

Three teaching zones will support different student groups, including Zone A PMLD, with dedicated support spaces and direct access to external areas so groups can remain separate without the need for obvious barriers. The entrance will form a bright and welcoming centre for the building, containing reception, therapy rooms, nurses’ facilities, a main hall and a parents’ room that can also be used for staff meetings. The building’s location close to the loop road will also support daily operation, allowing supported transport and minibuses to access a dedicated drop-off area near the main entrance. Together, these moves are intended to create a building that feels calm, supportive and dignified, while remaining flexible enough to support the wider Life provision across the college where needed. 

Located along North Drive at the northern end of the campus, opposite the Evolution Centre and adjacent to the Creative Gateway, the High Needs Centre is designed to sit comfortably within the wider language of the Oaklands masterplan. The teaching wings will be constructed in robust brick, with light stone-coloured brick echoing the Creative Gateway and giving a lighter expression to the wings facing outward towards the campus boundaries. Black standing seam metal wall and roof cladding will visually connect the building with the Evolution Centre and other campus buildings, reinforcing links across the campus. The main entrance is expressed as a cloistered brick frontage, giving the building a clear civic identity, while bright orange feature windows help orientate visitors and establish a recognisable point of arrival. 

Throughout the development of the masterplan our approach has included collaboration with young people, through a series of engagement sessions, ensuring their needs shaped the design of both living and learning environments. Empowering young people, the consultation process and subsequent design provide spaces that encourage personal development and community participation. 

We have engaged directly with the College Senior Leadership team over several years, supporting them in developing and refining design proposals in response to a shifting marketing and evolving business case.