Blog
Blog
Here at Fordingbridge we’re proud to be the UK’s leading provider of canopies for schools and in recent years we’ve noticed a key trend in the education space – a growing desire for all-weather outdoor dining spaces.
And it’s easy to see why!
In 2023 rain fell on a staggering 171.5 days of the year in the UK, so weatherproofing your outdoor dining options makes total sense, especially when indoor space is at such a premium for so many schools and colleges.
Manor Drive Secondary Academy in Peterborough did just that earlier this year and haven’t looked back – reporting that their new outdoor dining area has quickly been established as one of the most popular areas in their grounds and is revitalising the school experience:
“This space will completely transform the school experience for our students. It will give them more options for where to eat at lunch, frees up space in our dining hall and enable us to offer valuable outdoor learning experiences.”
Dan Freeman, Site Manager, Manor Drive Secondary Academy
When the school approached us needing to significantly expand their lunch and breaktime facilities we worked with their team to identify a suitable location for their new dining area and created a huge 23m x 15m canopy to cover the area – seeing the project through from initial site survey all the way through the design stages to installation.
The new area can accommodate large groups of students during peak lunch periods, with the canopy’s unique Opal 60 fabric providing protection from wind and rain in the autumn and winter months and the sun’s harmful UV rays in the summer months.
And Manor Drive Secondary Academy is far from alone. Blessed Hugh Farringdon Catholic School in Reading, Arthur Mellows Village College in Peterborough and Inverness Royal Academy have all recently expanded their lunch and breaktime facilities with popular outdoor dining options.
If you’re considering offering outdoor dining on your site, why not get in touch? You can arrange a complementary site visit where one of our expert team will come and assess your site to talk through options, with practical, cost-effective and long-lasting solutions always front of our minds.
