Hi! First post. The idea of this blog is to keep a record of the development of the school grounds at Thomas Coram Middle School in Berkhamsted, Herts, England.

My motivation for improving school grounds is to make them all as beautiful as possible. I supoose it goes back to childhood memories of standing in bleak tarmac deserts, with chilly winds and blazing sun, nowhere to site, nothing to do, being hit in the face with footballs. And I thought that was just what it was like - that is how playgrounds are and ever will be - just one of those things that children accept. And not just children - teachers, parents, everyone. Many years later, I discovered this was not so. When I was studying landscape architecture at the University of Greenwich I was introduced to Learning Through Landscapes and was given a project to develop ideas to improve a school playground in Greenwich. This opened my eyes to the possbilities that school grounds could and should be different.

My children were starting at Victoria First School - and so I tentatively started to work on plans to develop the grounds there. And after about 7 years they are lovely, the school is an eco school and has just had a fantastic Ofstead report. It is my belief that the school playgorund improvements there contributed to the school's success.

Of course you can't improve playgrounds alone. At Victoria for the first couple of years I got nowhere - it wasn't a priority for the school and I had no support. Then the new chair of the PTA (David F) took it on.We set up a committee of parents - with the new deputy head and a new governor; and it started - we planned, we raised money, we worked, and over time things happened. It was hard work, at times it could be difficult. But the rewards when you saw the children's response to the new playground - and from the teachers and parents was fantastic.

I also work professionally designing school grounds, for my employer, Jacobs. There it is very different - I am not involved closely with the school - I work as a designer, to briefs provided by the client (County Council and school), working on spaces left by the architects after new builds. I have reasonable budgets and professional contractors carry out the works. It is enjoyable to work this way - but it is only a few schools who get this opportunity; and I only provide a space, I don't know or affect what happens in it afterwards.

It is interesting to contrast the two ways of working; one is in the formal economy, professional, impersonal, unemotional, efficient, quick. The other is voluntary, no money, with love, slow, amateur, long term.