The Civic World

Those who provide education, from Nursery to University, are responsible for a vast estate at the heart of communities and cities. The spaces that surround these public buildings are not only a critical resource in learning - but also in redefining, regenerating, and enriching the public and private activities around them.

Schools matter. They are are public places which convey the meaning and purpose of learning in our communities. They influence how we value and use public space. For children, they are the single most significant built expression of the civic world.

Every major investment in the educational estate represents a major opportunity to remake the physical environment for the people who live and work in that larger place - in a way that will engender hope and improve life chances.

Cliches? Perhaps, but ones worth fighting for.