Defining a NEW
type of schoolyard
Compete to WIN a $200 Westfield gift voucher
What is the purpose of the modern schoolyard? How could it be better?
The Schoolyard I’d Like is a competition organised to identify what high school students want and need within the outdoor spaces of their school.
What To Do
Pick a site of intervention at your school. Snap a photo of it, then tell us how you would transform it. Proposals can be expressed through images, drawings, photos, plans – whatever best captures and communicates your vision through an A3 poster and an accompanying summary of up to 500 words.
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Entries open: Monday 22 February 2021
Entries close: Thursday 1 April 2021
Winners announced: April / May 2021
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For students
What is your ideal schoolyard? Is it a high ropes course or an outdoor alternative to the traditional classroom? Should it encourage wildlife, promote sport or provide a quiet retreat to hang with friends?
NOW is your chance to redefine the purpose of the schoolyard - with the chance to earn prizes for your ideas.
We want to know how the school grounds can be transformed to better engage, empower and enliven your daily school experience. Ideas could address issues of community, climate change, ecology or inclusion. You might consider topics of sport, safety, socialising or studying. Whether it’s rethinking the entire schoolyard, the lunch quadrangle or enhancing the ultimate outdoor bench, no idea is too big or too small. If it is meaningful to you and your fellow students, we want to know how and why.
For teachers
Adapt the competition to suit your needs in the classroom. The Schoolyard I’d Like explores topics relevant to units of Outdoor Learning and Geography within the Australian national curriculum, particularly around issues of place, liveability, interconnections and sustainability. Pupils could be assigned the task individually. Alternatively, small groups or the whole class could work on a collaborative entry. By taking part, students and teachers will be contributing towards much needed research around the types of schoolyards older students want and need. These ideas will remain as a record for future investigations around the design, purpose and use of outdoor facilities at secondary schools.