Waltzer seats and a slide at new school

Quirky features in the new Endike Primary School, due to open in Hull in 2012, include the chute, allowing children to slide from one level to another, giant steps and "Waltzer"-style seating in the restaurant.

The idea for the stairs with extra-wide steps which can double up as seats for a lecture theatre came from the Hellerup School, Copenhagen, in Denmark – with the designers of the Hull project adding the slide at the request of the children.

The school's restaurant will include Waltzer-style seating which can be swivelled in different directions.

David Martin, director of the 400m Building Schools for the Future programme in Hull, said: "Our feet are absolutely firmly on the ground. We are delivering firstly fantastic education on the inside and secondly amazing design which people can be proud of."

He said children wouldn't be allowed to whizz round in the seats, adding: "We want this to be fun; not disruptive."