Dulux Trade colours schools for the future

Over half of local authorities in England are now engaged at some stage in the Government's secondary school renewal programme, Building Schools for the Future. With this in mind, and after comprehensive research into the sector, a long anticipated guide to help schools achieve results with colour has been published by Dulux Trade.

'Colour in Education' is a comprehensive information pack that details everything that decision makers, from schools and local authorities to contractors and specifiers, should consider when choosing colour. Pulling together the relevant studies available and adding information from its own research into colour psychology, Dulux Trade has invested considerable time and expertise into producing the authoritative guide, forming conclusions and suggesting techniques to apply when choosing colours for educational environments.

Using their unique Language of Colour principles, Dulux Trade colour consultants and scientists have grouped colours that work well together, and placed them into four 'mood' categories: rich, fresh, warm and calm. By applying the colours belonging to just one 'mood' to a building, it becomes easy to co-ordinate walls, doors, floors and woodwork, and colour selection becomes a much simpler process.

Inside the Colour in Education pack there are pages of colour advice, illustrating where to start and guiding readers through colour selection for schools, with a focus on involving end users throughout the process. A recent survey by the Teacher Support Network and the British Council for School Environments found that out of 500 respondents, 87 per cent agreed that the school environment affected pupil behaviour, yet only 12 per cent considered their schools to be designed effectively. However, by involving end users in decisions about colour, and by following the principles of good design, colours can be chosen which will be a catalyst for uplift and renewal in schools.

A colour scheming CD based on the Language of Colour techniques accompanies the guide, allowing anyone selecting colour to experiment before committing to a particular colour scheme.

With so much public money contributing to the Building Schools for the Future programme, we need to ensure that learning environments are optimised. However, this isn't always easy, there are no short cuts or hard and fast rules about which colours to use in the built environment.

Our aim at Dulux Trade is to empower anyone involved in choosing colour, from pupils to the local authority, to feel confident when making decisions about colour, while understanding the significance and power of colour in design. Knowing who uses a building, what it is used for, choosing a good palette of colours and using these colours well is sometimes difficult without a skilled Interior Designer to advise. The Colour in Education guide has therefore been developed as a tool to be referred to throughout the design process, providing easy to understand tips and pointers.

In addition to detailing how to choose a colour scheme, Colour in Education also gives attention to the way colour can be used to help visually impaired pupils, teachers and other school users to navigate their way around independently. Including information about Light Reflectance Values (LRVs) and how to apply these on adjacent surfaces ensures that all those using the guide will adhere to recommendations from the Disability Discrimination Act (1995).

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  For further information download "How can schools achieve results with colour?" (PDF, 1.23MB)