Northglen Orchard Elementary School

Emerging within one of Bowmanville’s fastest-growing neighbourhoods, Northglen Orchard Elementary School represents a shift in how education and community are brought together. Designed as a place of connection and curiosity, the school creates a learning environment that dissolves boundaries—between grades, between inside and outside, and between students and teachers. Every space, from its open learning commons to its outdoor classrooms, was conceived to support collaboration, exploration, and a sense of belonging for every child who walks through its doors.

Working with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and inspired by research from Fielding International, the design team reimagined the conventional classroom corridor model into smaller, self-contained “learning communities.” Each community revolves around a central learning commons that blends the functionality of a library, technology hub, and studio, supporting independent study, small group collaboration, and project-based learning. These commons open directly to the outdoors, extending education into the natural landscape and encouraging flexible, hands-on experiences throughout the day.

The school’s plan forms an L-shaped arrangement with the gymnasium and administration spaces at its heart, symbolizing the school’s role as a civic gathering place. Two academic wings extend from this hub, each with direct access to exterior playfields and gardens. To maintain open, adaptable circulation, conventional lockers are replaced by shared “mud rooms” within each cohort—spaces that provide both function and community identity.

The program includes four Kindergarten classrooms, twenty-five standard classrooms, art and science rooms, multiple commons, and a childcare centre for infants through preschoolers. A central feature staircase doubles as a collaborative amphitheatre, reinforcing the school’s commitment to interactive learning and fostering a culture of engagement, inclusivity, and shared discovery.

This project is one of five major school construction projects led by Salter Pilon Architecture, that were part of the Infrastructure Ontario Rapid School Pilot Project. The initiative investigated modular school construction and expedition of the Ministry of Education approval process with rapid construction.