How modular classroom construction can meet the demand for school places

5 min read | July 2025

  • The UK is continuing to see demand for school places grow, with councils and schools struggling to ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place
    • Modular construction can aid school expansion, with modular classrooms providing additional capacity for pupils
      • Beyond easing the demand for school spaces, modular construction can also help schools meet sustainability targets
      • Inside a modular classroom

        This is where modular construction can be the solution. Building durable modular classrooms can boost capacity for students and provide a comfortable learning environment, within a significantly shorter timescale than traditional construction methods.

        Whether a school needs a single lab facility, or an entire school building, modular construction addresses the need for more space quickly, keeping any disruption to a minimum, and ensuring the next generation has somewhere to learn the skills to prepare them for life.

        For the school buildings that aren’t in urgent disrepair, however, many students are facing dreary classrooms and cramped corridors, an uninspiring place for the next generation to learn the skills they need for their future.

        With educational needs constantly evolving, modular construction offers the flexibility to adapt to policy shifts and changes in requirements from pupils, ensuring that buildings can remain fit-for-purpose throughout their lifecycle.

        Modular classrooms and whole school buildings can be tailored to accommodate bespoke features such as wider corridors, integrated ramps, different styles of lighting, and soundproofed classrooms, helping councils in need of more Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) facilities.

        For schools lacking in advanced facilities such as IT suites and science laboratories, modular construction can step in too, providing the spaces needed to equip students with the skills to inspire them into future careers.

        And the best part? This can all be done over the course of just a few months, minimising disruption to your staff and students, and ensuring you have the room to meet demand when the next Autumn term comes round.

        Many modular buildings are also built with energy efficient technologies in mind, including heat recovery ventilation units, which pre-heat fresh incoming air, and air source heat pumps, which extract heat from outside air and use it to heat a building and its hot water supply.

        This also delivers financial benefits to schools, reducing the cost of keeping classroom environments warm and comfortable in cold weather.

        Here at Thurston Group, we’ve worked with multiple schools and councils to help them meet a higher demand for school places.

        Beyond increasing the school’s capacity, the access to the building is Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) compliant, ensuring the school is able to provide for all pupils and teachers.

        We spent 13 weeks on-site, and the school remained operational throughout this time, ensuring minimal disruption for students and teachers, with our offsite manufacturing process reducing dust and noise too.

        Do you have a high demand for school places in your area, that you’re struggling to meet? Modular construction can help you.

        Whether you need a large school expansion, or a singular modular classroom, we’ll work with you to develop a space that fits your needs, meeting SEND requirements, sustainability priorities, and helping you increase your school’s capacity.

        Get in touch with our team to learn how you utilise modular construction to revolutionise classrooms and fast-track your school expansion, inspiring the next generation to learn the skills they need for life.

        Thurston Group is set to deliver a full turnkey solution for additional classrooms at Foxford School & Community Arts College in Coventry.


        At Thurston Group, we believe it’s important to champion women in construction. Our team has been discussing the challenges and rewards of working in the industry.