When it comes to designing and constructing a new sports facility or renovating an existing sports hall in your school – not a small investment by any means – careful consideration needs to be given to its functionality, aesthetics, and overall stability.
Headteachers and school administrators have a duty of care to ensure their students’ wellbeing, safety and health, not to mention navigate the tumultuous waters of Ofsted ratings. One of the most important considerations is the infrastructure on their premises, including (but not limited to) school sports halls.
Making informed choices during the initial design, planning and construction phases can ensure your facility ticks all the relevant boxes while providing excellent, long-term value for your students. Here we outline the essential steps to take when creating functional, effective and appealing facilities that add value to your school community.
Initial assessments and space planning
Before you pursue your sports hall construction or renovation project, it’s important to establish exactly how the space will be used. For most schools, it will be a multifunctional space for games, PE lessons and possibly even examinations across all year groups when needed. There is also reason to believe that theatre productions, open days, or community days could be held inside a multifunctional sports facility.
All of this information should inform the minimum space requirements for a sports hall. According to Sport England’s Affordable Sports Halls document, under the section Building Design, 4-court hall modules should measure 34.5m × 20.0m × 7.5m, while 5-court halls require 40.6m × 21.35m × 7.5m. The chosen model depends on the sports or physical activities your school intends to hold, as some have specific spatial requirements; for example, a 4-court sports hall cannot accommodate a full-size indoor hockey pitch.
It’s also important to ascertain specific ceiling heights. While Sport England recommends a minimum of 7.5m of clear height to comfortably accommodate most sports, certain competitions like trampolining (10.0m), or premier-level badminton (9.0m) demand higher ceilings. Also, lighting fixtures, heating units, netting, basketball hoops, and more can also occupy ceiling space and thus will need to be planned accordingly.
Heating and environmental conditions
While sports halls invariably host PE or indoor games sessions, they will likely be used for some sedentary activities from time to time. School leaders must ensure their sports hall can be appropriately heated and ideally fitted with controls that can be remotely altered based on occupancy levels and usage patterns. Heater positioning must be considered, as it’s estimated that air temperature can increase by roughly 2.5°C for every metre above floor level. What’s more, lower-mounted heaters can interfere with activities, but maintenance is inherently easier. Noise levels, ventilation performance and air quality must also be carefully considered when designing multipurpose sports halls, particularly in spaces that will accommodate large groups of people at a time.
Consider not just HVAC systems but also underfloor heating or radiant heating panels that can deliver warmth when needed while reducing overall energy costs and emissions.
Flooring and surfacing
The type of sports hall flooring can equally help or hinder overall performance, safety and maintenance. Multi-sport halls and venues would be best suited to installing versatile point-elastic or area-elastic surfaces that meet EN 14904 standards, which provide appropriate friction, bounce and absorption levels that can accommodate various activities comfortably.
Other factors such as load-bearing capacity, cleaning and maintenance ease, damage resistance, visual appearance, and overall resilience all need consideration when deciding on sports hall surfaces. If you are installing underfloor heating in your sports hall, make sure that the chosen flooring can accommodate this as well, as well as markings and equipment sockets.
Lighting
The choice of lighting in your facility can dramatically affect the overall experience. Students may frequently look upwards during lessons and activities, so lights should be carefully positioned to prevent excessive glare. LED lighting systems offer plenty of benefits over traditional lighting, including longer overall runtime and energy efficiency.
When planning your sports hall lighting design, consider the position of fixed basketball hoops and brackets, division netting, and so on, to ensure all fixtures can work unencumbered by obstacles. Furthermore, consider the BUG ratings of your lighting to ensure the light behind the panels is actually going to be directed correctly.
Aesthetics and appearance
While comparatively minor in the scheme of things, the colour of your sports hall walls can affect visibility. Bright white surfaces are uniform, but they can be problematic in that they create distracting reflections sometimes. Instead, opt for colours with light reflectance values (LRV) between 30% and 50%, with blue and green hues being particularly popular.
Doors and wall coverings should match the main wall colour for visual continuity, and wall materials should provide some acoustic insulation and impact resistance, particularly in areas where ball contact is more likely.
Create a sports hall that stands the test of time
Finally, and fundamentally, consider how your sports hall might need to be altered or adjusted over time. Extend the facility’s overall longevity by carefully investing in high-quality materials, systems and storage to comfortably accommodate new changes in the long run. While these initial investments might seem high, the savings on maintenance and repairs, coupled with the long-term value you’ll be giving your school, will make the upfront costs well worth it.
Paying close attention to these factors during the pivotal planning, design and construction or renovation phases will give headteachers the best possible chance to deliver a sports facility that perfectly complements students’ educational experiences.
By Dakota Murphey
