Queen Elizabeth II Rooms

Much of the design of the Queen Elizabeth II Rooms was inspired by Dumfries House in Ayrshire, and Gordonstoun representatives visited the estate as part of the planning process.

The Queen Elizabeth II Rooms, clad with Siberian Larch timber, boasts advanced environmental credentials such as solar PV panels, ground source heating and hi-tech C02 monitoring. The solar panels generate enough free energy for four months of the year, while the overall bill for the building has been substantially cut. The building has also been installed with the latest technology, including control systems for removing and adding walls to change the size of the existing rooms, and interactive teaching walls.

The Queen Elizabeth II Rooms at Gordonstoun, set in 200 acres of woodland by the Moray Firth, is the first phase of the school’s bold masterplan to create a new ‘classroom village’ to upgrade its facilities for students and the local community, while reducing energy and the school’s carbon footprint. It is the most ambitious construction programme at Gordonstoun since World War II. The architects drew some of their inspiration from two traditional craft training buildings at the Dumfries House Estate. The new classrooms feature similar high ceilings, timber cladding and lanterns on the roof for more natural light. 

The building opened to students and staff in April 2023 following 14 months of construction. The underfloor heating is provided by ground source heating, which involved creating bore holes up to 40 metres deep. Despite being more costly to install than air source heating, Gordonstoun chose the more environmentally friendly option to complete the only building of its type to meet the Scottish Government’s new stringent energy and environmental standards.