The school has long had a reputation for excellence in the creative arts and has been the launchpad for a diverse range of artists, musicians and performers including Academy Award nominee Helena Bonham Carter, Murder She Wrote star Angela Lansbury, award-winning author Fay Weldon and Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson.

Dan Fleming, who led the design project for Broadway Malyan, said the aspiration for the project was to create a facility that continued to elevate the school’s performing arts offer while also providing a high quality venue that could be used by both the school and the local community.

He said: “Waterlow Hall is currently a functional space used by the school for exams and assemblies and some performances but it is a visually unappealing space, suffers from poor acoustics and lacks the necessary infrastructure and flexibility to meet the school’s needs.

“The design proposal works within the spatial constraints of the existing structure to create a performance space that focuses on supporting and encouraging creativity at the new ‘heart’ of South Hampstead High School. It will dramatically transform the atmosphere and experience for both performer and audience while providing significant additional utility in the everyday life of the school.”

The refurbishment will include the installation of a new floating timber floor throughout the hall and rhomboid tiered seating that will retract back into a concealed storage cupboard when they are not required.

The project will also include the installation of a decorative LED lighting system inspired by that used in the Canadian National Music Centre in Calgary, dramatically amplifying the performance space while also having the ability to adapt to the diverse lighting requirements in the hall.

A new mezzanine balcony is being constructed opposite the stage for a new sound and lighting control room and this will be attached to a bespoke technical gantry that runs around the perimeter of the hall.

The introduction of a technical gantry will provide safe and secure access to the theatrical equipment at high level improving user operation, maintenance and functionality of the hall as a performance space, while also creating a unique teaching environment for students and staff.

The walls, ceiling and technical gantry have all been designed to optimise the acoustic performance of the hall with faceted panels and vertical timber battens lining the entire perimeter of the space, referencing the design concept of a magical woodland screen to create a warm, neutral canvas for each performance.