Woodcroft College New Junior School

The idea for a new Junior School originated in 2018. Swanbury Penglase collaborated with Woodcroft College to develop a 20-year master plan, prioritising the construction of a new Early Learning Centre, followed by a two-story Junior School development to replace the existing precinct. That original Junior School, located at the opposite corner of the site, dated back to the early years of the College and consisted of over thirty transportable buildings.

A year after the Early Learning Centre was completed, and driven largely by its success, the College decided to move to triple streaming for the Junior School and thus a three storey building.

The transition represented a ‘cultural shift’ for teaching staff, who had been accustomed to the single-story ‘village-type’ Junior School for many years. The design team presented the benefits and opportunities of a ‘vertical village’ concept, with Learning Communities and specialist areas located around a central atrium—a space designed for both deliberate and incidental collaboration.

Loose furniture is provided throughout the breakout spaces to allow for flexible configurations. Breakout rooms on all three levels are designed for various uses, including collaborative group work—particularly for older students—quiet work time, or meetings between teachers, students, and parents.

Internal design colours, patterns and themes draw from the rich natural environment of the local area including references to Onkaparinga Gorge and River, the adjacent Bains Road Creek and the surrounding areas of bushland. This is most obviously expressed with a dynamic full height super-graphic wallpaper in the central atrium, including a series of native animals to discover.

The landscaping includes two specialist outdoor learning pavilions with custom perspex decorative screens to minimize weather exposure, offering options for structured teaching in the landscape or use during lunch and recess.

Wide balconies surround the building’s perimeter, providing direct connections from early years classrooms to the new Junior School landscape. Furthermore, direct visual links to the existing Early Learning Centre, as well as seamless access to the College oval, with amphitheatre seating and various play areas, enhance the educational, cultural, and functional opportunities offered by the new landscape.