For this groundbreaking research, Nightingale Associates, a leading architecture agency, and the School of the Built Environment at the University of Salford, studied a total of 751 students who were spread out into 34 different classrooms in 7 different schools.

The study involved the collection of standardised information about each student, both at the start of the academic year and at the end. This information included gender, age and performance. Alongside this information, every classroom was given a rating based on quality when it came to 10 unique environmental aspects, including acoustics, temperature, colour, shape and natural light.

The published results showed that the design and architecture of a classroom played a crucial part in the performance of pupils. Specifically, 6 aspects, in particular, were closely related to academic performance:

• Light – Natural Light Levels in Particular
• Flexibility – How Easily can the Classroom be Reconfigured
• Complexity – How Simple and Clutter-Free Environments Affect Performance
• Connection – Technology Integrations
• Choice – Giving Students Choice and Flexibility
• Colour – How Colour Palette Affects a Student’s Mood and Productivity

The lead author of the study, architect Peter Barrett, stated that this research was the first time an assessment of this kind had been carried out. And that it definitively links school pupil learning rates with the design of their immediate learning environment, affecting a student’s rate of learning by up to 25% across a full academic year.

With these results in mind, it comes as no surprise that the design of classrooms, ICT rooms, school libraries and even dining areas are now seen as vital in the development of young minds.