Highfield, Birtley East Primary School

This long and low school building was probably opened on 13 April 1926 as Birtley Elizabethville Council Girls School. On 23 August 1938 this school merged with the Boys School to form Birtley Elizabethville County Junior Mixed School. The building is influenced by the Arts and Crafts style, and so uses deep terracotta clay roof and ridge tiles, and multiple gables with simple timber bargeboards, but maximises light with a profusion of (apparently original) windows animating the ground-hugging elevations. The 2 long wings features simple rectangular timber sashes, whereas the central section makes a grand feature of large, round headed French windows for added interest. The rhythm of the frontage is assisted by narrow 2 storey, hipped elements flanking the central block, with tall chimneys, stepping down to gables housing tri-partite windows. The woodwork is painted a cheerful turquoise. Overall this is a vast and pleasing, relatively early school building, which demonstrates the use of attractive natural materials, in a design that is very much representative of its time. MATERIALS Brick, clay tile, timber DATES 1924 (? 1926?) LOCAL LIST