For over a decade, we’ve helped schools get more from their estate and plan for sustainable growth.
VAT is now here, but our mission remains the same.
Work with us to navigate uncertainty and thrive in the post-VAT landscape.
Audit your estate
Our architectural audits will identify underutilised areas of your school and recommend improvements to make your estate work harder.
Repurpose and retrofit
Our extensive experience in reconfiguring heritage and non-educational buildings for school use means we can help you reimagine your estate and stay competitive.
Align key stakeholders
Our workshops engage staff, pupils and parents in meaningful dialogue, sparking ideas and discussion, while helping you align your senior team and governors around your next-steps strategy.
Expand early-years
Having developed over 40 high-end nursery settings, we are uniquely positioned to help schools deliver best-in-class nursery and pre-school environments — a proven way to secure pupil enrolment.
Identify growth potential
We can map the most efficient ways to unlock greater value from your estate — identifying opportunities for improvement, expansion, or adaptation that align with your school’s long-term vision and budget.
Scenario planning
We can test the implications of future changes — such as co-ed transition or school mergers — to support strategic planning, strengthen estate resilience, and inform decision-making.
Expand overseas
Explore international expansion in regions where VAT exemption and other financial advantages may apply.
Scale to multiple sites
Our experience in developing design standards helps education groups expand across multiple sites while ensuring each setting feels like part of a cohesive whole.
Unlock investment
We’ll help you articulate a compelling vision through bold imagery and powerful storytelling — securing buy-in from key stakeholders and strengthening your case for fundraising.
Work with us to thrive in the post-VAT landscape.
Nina Kingsmill Moore
Headteacher, Glendower Prep School
Sandrine Paillesse
Headteacher, St Christopher’s School
Of the 5 or 6 architectural firms that we have worked with in the last 5 years, Kennedy Woods are amongst the very best and I have no hesitation in recommending them to other educational providers.
Mark Dingle
Operations Director
Wishford Education
We found Chris, Tom and the team to be full of ideas, keep well to the brief, respond to critique constructively and importantly to fit well with our way of thinking and doing things.
Vicky Garner
Director
Living Villages Cook School
I highly recommend their services to any school seeking innovative and thoughtful architectural solutions.
Paul Neagle
Bursar
St Christopher’s Hampstead
For a group of franchise CEO’s who rarely have the opportunity to come together, we were a hard group to please. Tom and the team exceeded all expectations.
Emily Vermont
Director
School of Social Entrepreneurs
I would recommend them to other clients looking for a practice who can apply fresh thinking and dedication to a project.
Neil Kirby
Head of Regeneration
Southwark Council
Finding architects who understand school needs are rare and I despaired - until I met Tom and Chris. From the beginning, they listened to us and guided us as we created our forward-thinking masterplan and rolled out its first phase.
Sandrine Pailasse
Headteacher
St Christopher’s Hampstead
Chris and the team are commercially minded and easy to work with - their focus on delivery, fast turnaround times, and willingness to adapt made them a great architecture and design partner for our first 30 sites.
Pete Spencer
Project Manager
N Family Club
Up next …
See a complete case study to learn more about the design process.
Learn how we work with our clients to design visionary masterplans.
See the initiatives we run to help make the design industry more equitable.
