Harris Invictus

Harris Invictus Academy is an outstanding example of a Free School, built on a challenging site, to a demanding brief, with limited funding and challenging planners’ expectations.

The award-winning Harris Invictus Academy is an example of exceptional architecture creating an effective learning environment, offering exciting educational and community opportunities and having a transformational impact on the regeneration of the local area.

The six-form entry school provides education for up to 1,150 pupils aged 11-18 years, on behalf of the Harris Federation. The building provides inspirational settings for teaching and learning along with plentiful opportunities for enterprise and community engagement.

The accommodation, split over three and four storeys, provides classrooms, a sports hall, main hall, activity studio, dining area, library, music room, reception area as well as other teaching and office space and store rooms. In addition to the main building there are multi-use games areas, sports pitches and an external play space to the rear of the site.

Built with pupils in-situ in temporary accommodation at the rear of the site, the construction had to take into account the tight urban site and the planners’ high expectations of a landmark building in an area of Croydon identified for regeneration. The resulting building was shortlisted a project of the year at the Building Awards, and named project of the year at the Education Estates Awards 2018.