Town Close School

Town Close School in Norwich already makes remarkable use of it’s outdoor spaces. Set within 15 acres of woodland, dedicated paths beyond the playing field lead pupils in and around the perimeter, winding between the trees on a continuous loop. The children are allowed to be connected to nature at every turn - catering to a wide variety of recreation and activities dotted along the way. The school heavily values these spaces, and it’s this self-led, imaginative play that shaped our project with them. 

Town Close is a leading co-educational independent prep school for ages 3-13. When we began working with the school to reimagine one of their existing playgrounds, we wanted to create a design that reflected the school's need for self-led play but also to captivate the imaginations of their pupils by drawing on the school's history. 

A design rooted in their local history

The inspiration came from the school's own story. The Boardman family once lived at Town Close and went on to build How Hill in the Norfolk Broads as their holiday home. How Hill is now a popular residential venue for schools, and Town Close's Year 8 pupils stay there every summer. That connection led us to the Wherry Boat Yard, a design centred on a traditional Norfolk wherry, the sailing boats that once carried cargo along the Broads and were pivotal to the regions growing network.

The wherry’s boatyard. 

At the heart of the space is the wherry itself, a hand-built boat of timber with a curved hull, an open deck and a slide running down from the starboard beam. Children climb aboard, explore the deck, and have the whole crew's worth of roles to play, from captain to cargo hand. The hull is clad in larch, and a ladder up the side gives a second way aboard for routes in and around the structure. 

Rising from the deck, a sail of netting is stretched between Robinia poles, giving children a place to climb, balance and look out from. Trapeze handles hang under a horizontal Robinia post. On the quayside, stacks of timber cargo crates form stepping and climbing routes up to the wherry's rigging, while a trail of stepping stumps winds across the surfacing. 

At the water's edge, a group of tall pull-up bars stands like bullrushes on a riverbank, giving children a place to hang, swing and test their strength. A “Know Your Knots” activity board nearby adds an interactive and educational task for the pupils to learn and practice their knot tying. 

Whilst the children are immersed within the structure they explore, they discover and test their own creative ways to interact physically. The design becomes a conduit for self-led and collaborative play. 

More than a build

Our Head of Happiness, Pete Dean, spent nine years as a head teacher before joining us. On the day the playground opened, he led an assembly for the school about why play and being active outdoors matters, and shared how a project like this comes together, from the first ideas to the finished build.

It also planted a seed. The Wherry Boat Yard doesn’t have a name yet, so the children have been challenged to come up with one in no more than three words. The winning entry will become the final piece of the build. The pupils have a second creative challenge to design their own play structure and share it with one of our play designers.

Thank you to Anna Linsmith, Cassie Cox and Town Close’s PTA who were instrumental in making this project possible.