Ryde School, South London

The Brief
The Ryde School approached us with a clear vision: to transform a previously underused grassed area alongside the existing play equipment into an outdoor activity trail. The objective was to create a straight-line route along the hedge that would promote physical challenge, imaginative play and confidence-building for pupils of all ages.

A key part of the brief was to ensure the trail felt like a natural extension of the school grounds, with safe and accessible surfacing and a sequence of engaging equipment that would support a variety of physical skills.

Budget
The project was made possible thanks to the incredible fundraising efforts of the school’s Parent Teacher Association, who contributed a total of £18,000. This funding allowed the school not only to deliver a well-equipped trail, but also to enhance accessibility by investing in a wide, continuous path surface, going well beyond the minimum required beneath each item.

Design Priorities
The school had several priorities guiding the design:

The trail had to follow a straight line along the hedge, connecting to existing play equipment. It needed to include five challenging and progressive play elements. The entire length of the trail required a wide bonded mulch path, ensuring safety, improved supervision, and year-round access—even in poor weather. A natural aesthetic was important to help the new installation blend with the surrounding grass and landscape.

What We Delivered
We installed a custom-designed activity trail featuring five carefully chosen elements that support a range of physical and developmental skills. The layout was designed to encourage flow, progression, and enjoyment: The trail begins with the advanced challenge net, which promotes climbing, balance, and problem-solving. Next is the spinning log, offering a fun, rotating balance challenge. The twisty net follows, requiring agility and footwork to navigate its  rope structure. Pupils then tackle the advanced tyre pass, building coordination and confidence. Finally, the trail concludes with the overhead ladder, giving children a rewarding final challenge focused on upper body strength and coordination.

The surface beneath the entire route was finished with a green and brown bonded rubber mulch, chosen for its natural look and to match what the school already had in place. Rather than surfacing only under the equipment itself, the school chose to install a continuous wide path to future-proof the space and make it fully accessible.

The Outcome
The activity trail has completely transformed a once-quiet section of the playground into a lively, high-use area where pupils of all ages can develop physical skills, build resilience, and enjoy active play throughout the year.

Thanks to the foresight of the school and the support of the PTA, the project has delivered lasting value, not only by meeting the original brief, but by creating a safe, accessible, and inclusive space for outdoor learning and play.

Following the success of the installation, the school placed a further order to extend the path beyond the initial layout, further increasing usability and supporting future development of the space.

What the School Said
“We’re so pleased with the result. The trail has completely changed how our pupils use this part of the field. The sequence of equipment keeps them active, engaged and challenged, and the wide surfacing means it’s usable all year round. We’re especially grateful to the PTA for helping bring this to life, it’s been a brilliant improvement for the whole school.”
Headteacher, The Ryde School