We all know that when purchasing a property location is important.  But should the location rule be applied when purchasing equipment such as school lockers or workplace lockers for staff in new or existing buildings.

Due to the popular TV show presented by Kirsty Allsopp and Phil Spencer, location was always put high on the list of priorities.  Postcode, school catchment area and resale value all had to be taken into account on the programme when choosing the right property and often the old adage of the “worst house on the best street” was considered to be the most business like strategy.  So what is the most business like strategy when purchasing school lockers?  Marketing director Heather Hart comments “There’s lots to consider when purchasing school lockers and location of lockers is just one aspect.  Ideally it’s important to provide personal storage space within the school environment so belongings don’t need to be carried around all day long.  Each student should have a place to store their books, bags, coats and PE equipment as well as a secure place to store laptops and mobile phones.”

However not all schools in the UK are purpose built and are still in old Victorian buildings where space is limited.  In these circumstances, creativity and design to make the most efficient use of storage space and layout is essential.  “This is where our expertise in supplying lockers and storage solutions to schools in the UK over the past 25 years can really help.  Schools and academies are now in charge of their own fire safety precautions and so it is important to make sure that lockers are installed in appropriate locations.  It is better particularly in large schools to distribute lockers in several different areas.  These could be along corridors or inside classrooms.  The main thing is to create a flow of traffic at all times and not create bottlenecks in one particular area” says Heather.

Not all schools have enough room to give each student an individual full height locker.  But this doesn’t mean that student’s personal storage space should be compromised.  Instead your school could use two or three tier lockers or purpose built laptop lockers with or without in charge facilities, without taking up as much room.  For primary schools and junior schools where pupil heights should be taken into consideration 3D Lockers is able to offer a range of three quarter height and half height lockers.

Following the baby boom in 2007, primary school admissions are set to rise to a predicted 240,000 in September of this year.  Even though the government is prepared to invest in school expansion it nevertheless means that schools need to provide more storage space to promote efficient and tidy educational environments.  Some schools are overcoming this problem by installing lockers in outdoor areas.  3D Lockers were recently called in by Terra Nova School, click here to see case study.  The new school lockers were located under a specially built canopy so outdoor space could be used as the classrooms were quite small.  This allowed the school to provide adequate locker facilities for pupils whilst not compromising indoor space.

For more information or if you would like to discuss your school locker requirement, please contact us on 01924 240291.