Study of learning environments has been a dominant theme in previous articles. Now, we can get an insight into an institution where, from the very beginning, the spaces where education takes place are seen as an opportunity rather than a given. The guest of our article is Attila Frész, school leader of the Biatorbágy Innovative Technical and Secondary School (BIT), who sheds light on the links between the physical environment, the well-being of school citizens and the quality of education through the design and operation of their school.

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Modern school in the suburb of Budapest

The new building of the Biatorbágy Innovative Technical and Secondary School (BIT) is a national landmark in Hungary, with spaces adapted to the latest teaching methodology and state-of-the-art digital technology and applications. The school building’s architecture is designed to reflect the principles and core values of the school and its sponsor, Ecumenical Relief, such as respect, trust, expertise, quality, learner-centredness, openness, collaboration, community, Christianity and sustainability. (BIT) provides marketable skills to around 600 students in a progressive system. For the 2023/24 school year, high school and vocational classes will be launched. In their technical classes, they offer 3 types of courses: finance and accounting, logistics and IT.

After a transitional period in Bicske, the institution moved to its Biatorbágy home, which was designed and built according to the founders’ architectural and pedagogical concept, and was established as a greenfield investment. It is run by the Ecumenical Relief Organisation for Education Foundation, but at the same time it is a state-run school, both as a vocational school and a secondary school. The mixed profile and training offer was designed to meet the needs of the expanding agglomeration.

The design and construction was based on the following criteria (details on the school website):

• The building should be functional and multifunctional, i.e. aiming for simplicity and practicality, and should be suitable for educational purposes, and in addition to being adapted to the purposes of education, it should also serve local community purposes.
• It should be sustainable, i.e. have future-oriented energy solutions (solar panels, heat pump systems), be easy to operate, easy to clean, easy to maintain, easy to repair and able to withstand heavy use.
• Be flexible, i.e. the building and its spaces must be able to support a variety of methodologies. Quality education requires that school premises are able to accommodate a variety of pedagogical methods.
• Be transparent, i.e. the activities in the building should be transparent to everyone, thus fostering trust and respect for each other. The design of the spaces was expected to be clear, so that the work taking place in the school could be seen from the surrounding area.
• It should be of high quality, meaning that the school building and grounds should exude a sense of sophistication, boosting the self-esteem of those inside and supporting them to do quality work.
• Be digital, i.e. expect the building spaces to be designed to be suitable for all aspects of working with digital tools.

Construction of the institution started in autumn 2021. The major investment in the school was preceded by a thorough planning process, in which leading experts in architecture, pedagogy, digitalisation and sustainability worked closely together. The new 11 000 m2 secondary school is being built as a greenfield project in partnership with the Hungarian government, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (ITM) and the Danish Velux Foundation. The 2023/24 school year has already started in the new building in Biatorbágy.

Reality-based design

In both the design of the building and the composition of the teaching staff, the management is guided by the founders’ cultural vision and the educational strategy they developed to support it. According to Attila Frész, it is not the individual elements that are innovative, but rather the way in which they are linked.

The reality of traditional Hungarian schools is different from life outside them, according to the principal. While he acknowledges that handwritten, multi-page essays, for example, can be a useful experience in the school leaving examination, he and his staff focus on developing the skills needed to meet the challenges of the present and the future in everyday teaching. International best practices and Hungarian specificities have been taken into account in the development of the methodology.

Holistic innovation

BIT is innovation in three main areas: digitalisation, wellbeing of school citizens and measurement and evaluation.

When he talks about digitalisation, Attila is emphatically not talking about digital education, but about education supported by digital tools. In fact, he is convinced that digitalisation does not replace the teacher, but only encourages a change in his role and tools. As far as well-being is concerned, the way he thinks about leadership is determined by his image of young adults. According to this view, the secondary school age group is like boiling wine: students in this period are searching for their identity, and in doing so, they all sometimes experience a normative crisis. To ensure that students receive sufficient attention during this particularly sensitive period, two class teachers are assigned to each class. This allows teachers to give quality attention to students, in addition to class teacher administration and fire-fighting, and to support them with an interface – where they can learn about well-being and self-awareness. This has since been complemented by an online platform linked to a well-being measurement and assessment system, which helps to develop students’ emotional intelligence, counselling and can also be seen as a kind of pre- or early warning system.

All teachers are assessed using a points system instead of the usual averaging and distribution of marks – the headmaster considers the uniform application rather than the details to be an innovation. The points system has been developed by the teaching staff on the basis of uniform standards, with similar types of tasks and challenges and tests giving the same score across subjects. The point limits and scoring options are made clear in advance, making it much easier to correct a bad mark and encouraging extra effort with less pressure. As is often the case with beneficial changes, adjusting to a points system takes time for students.

Community spaces

An 11 000 square metre complex now supports the implementation of the institution’s approach. It can serve as a learning space for up to 600 students in 19 classes and, just as importantly, as a community space. In addition to more than 30 classrooms and classrooms, there is a 300-seat auditorium, a large gymnasium and associated gym, and a sports courtyard. The designers have also taken care of an aspect that is rarely taken into account: separate storage areas for equipment that is no longer in use.

Standing in the middle of the school, you can almost see the whole building. The spaces were designed primarily as learning blocks rather than classrooms. These consist of 3 to 3 classrooms, their associated group rooms and a bubble room, with a separate teaching and administration block. The designers chose this middle ground between the completely open teaching spaces typical of northern education systems and the traditional ‘corridor-cell’ layout, and the success of this approach is confirmed by the literature on block-school buildings. In addition, orientation is also helped by visual means such as colour, as we have already heard from different researchers.

Space and well-being

The classrooms were designed to be sustainable, multifunctional spaces. In these classrooms, the spatial layout and ergonomic settings of the desks are flexible. Lighting is well controlled with many shading windows. Instead of desk drawers, students can store their belongings in lockers, but they don’t have to go outside for the basics, as there is a water closet in every room. The classrooms also have a separate teacher preparation room.

Members of this episode:

Attila Frész, teacher of German theology, educational expert, director of the Biatorbágy Innovative Technical and Secondary School (BIT)

Attila Frész graduated in German at ELTE and in theology at Sapientia Theological College. Afterwards he became a teacher and later principal of the Franciscan High School in Szentendre. In addition to her work as a teacher and class teacher, she worked as a consultant for the Institute for Educational Research and Development, as a developer of the Digital Pedagogical Methodology Centre and as an expert in several digital pedagogical projects. These included professional trips to England and Finland. Since its foundation, he has been the director of the Biatorbágy Innovative Technical School and Secondary School (BIT).

I think it is important to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the digital world in the field of language learning, as there are many great opportunities and tools available to help students learn a foreign language. This requires, first and foremost, that the student is able and willing to learn. Therefore, one of my most important tasks as a teacher is to support, encourage and guide them along the path of language learning.

Bertalan Péter Farkas, editor-in-chief of Knowledge Hun podcast, managing director of Learnitect Design Ltd.

Knowledge manager, knowledge management consultant, trainer, project manager, but originally a teacher of geography and history. In his day job, he works as a professional director for one of the largest educational technology companies in the region, as a knowledge manager for education and digital transformation, and as an entrepreneur he is a lover of learning environments and knowledge transfer. After a few years of teaching, he worked for government agencies (Educatio, EMET, Tempus) and headed the Knowledge Management team of the Tempus Public Foundation for almost 6 years. As Managing Director of Learnitect Design Ltd. he is involved in knowledge management and design of learning environments for knowledge transfer, online and offline learning management, design of community spaces and international project management. He conceived the idea for the Node podcast in 2022, which finally became a reality in autumn 2023.