School Lockers are a fundamental part of any school environment. They allow for student independence and minimise clutter within learning environments. With a wide range of options available, it is easy to overlook some of the crucial details.
Before making your final locker purchase, here are 5 things you need to consider when choosing your perfect school locker system.
Our top 5 tips for school lockers 📝
1. Identify the right locker size and configuration 🎒
Selecting the right locker size and setup is important to meet the needs of students and staff. With a range of sizes and heights, choosing the right locker can improve usability. Please note that compartments and lockers are not the same, as one locker unit may contain several compartments. Therefore, it is important to remember this whilst placing an order over the web or with our sales team.
For primary school children aged 4 to 11, shorter lockers make it easier to reach the top compartment. For younger children, the 995mm TUFF Education Locker lets them reach each compartment with absolute ease.
Smaller locker sizes are also available in our Fortis Locker range. You can buy individual compartments in 450mm, 600mm, and 900mm heights.
For those older students in high school, our standard lockers are 1800mm tall. This includes our best-selling TUFF Lockers, with up to 6 compartments available to choose from.
2. Consider the most practical material type 🔗
Choosing a practical material can help prevent unnecessary locker re-purchasing. Choosing a high-quality material helps it resist daily student use. It also helps it survive in its environment.
We use heavy-duty steel to make most of our school lockers. We powder-coat each one to add an extra layer of protection against accidental knocks and scratches. The result is a low-maintenance yet durable locker system, ideal for use by all age groups. Multiple colour options are also available, helping these lockers to blend in or stand out in busy school environments.
Sometimes, schools require lockers within their PE changing rooms. If schools have access to swimming facilities, the Probe ZenBox Aluminium Locker with Laminate Doors is a great choice. Ideal for resisting humid environments, they maintain a long-lasting appearance because of their ability to resist corrosion. Nonetheless, their aluminium body makes them durable for frequent student use, with heavy-duty hinges to help.
3. Keep everything secure behind the right locker 🔐
Security is a fundamental factor when choosing your locker. Which lock option you pick can determine how students store their belongings, and how heavily they trust them. Here at Direct2U, we offer a wide range of lock options. Each has unique benefits based on student age, budget, and placement.
As standard, our school lockers come with standard cam locks, which are ideal for secondary school lockers and above. This involves using a key to gain access to each individually locked compartment. Each lock comes with two keys, which allow authorised staff to access each compartment.
For those students using the smaller lockers, upgrading to a swivel latch lock may be the best idea. They involve students simply turning the lock to gain access to the compartment. No keys means teachers do not need to worry about students losing them, and can quickly check on the inside contents without hassle. The result is a build-up in student independence, whilst minimising security risks.
Other options we have available are digital combination locks. With up to 10,000 unique numerical combinations to choose from, it is another keyless system that older students can use. For lockers in humid changing rooms, moisture-resistant locks are ideal. They allow steady access without corrosion damaging the mechanism.
4. The requirement for hygiene and ventilation 🦠
Schools are well known for being a place where germs can be spread. This is because of the volume of people in one area at a time. Even brief contact with a surface can trigger unwanted bacterial growth, and students can spread the bacteria among themselves.
To stop illness from spreading, we added a protective Germ Guard Active Technology powder coating to each locker unit. They developed the anti bacterial coating to stop germs from growing after someone touches the surface. This coating lasts the lockers’ entire lifecycle, so it requires no maintenance to stay effective.
Ventilation to each compartment is also a critical factor to consider. This is because students will use these lockers to store a variety of personal belongings, from used PE kits to packed lunches. Vents therefore stop the build-up of odours and moisture, helping to maintain the lockers’ overall structural integrity.
Our Armour Lockers come with built-in ventilation in the doors. This is applicable across the entire size range, including the 955mm, 1235mm, 1380mm and 1800mm full-sized models.
5. Maximise your storage space with accessories ✨
Adding accessories can improve the locker’s efficiency and ease of use. This can help to boost your school’s locker area to be more accessible for all age groups to utilise.
- Sloping roof tops: We offer the option to add sloping top roofs to most of our lockers. Their purpose is to make locker tops easy to reach for cleaning. It also stops students from storing belongings and rubbish on top. This can lead to hallways that are less cluttered with mess and rubbish
- Locker stands: Raising lockers off the floor can help to keep the area underneath lockers clean from mess and debris. Additionally, they can make the bottom locker easier to access for those older students. For the Probe Zenbox Aluminium Lockers, their specialist stands come with plinths and the option to add seating. This can make this lockers placement within a humid changing room look more appealing and polished
- Changing room benches: For lockers in a changing room, providing seating space can boost the functionality of the space. In busy gym changing rooms, allowing students to sit down can create a safer environment where they do not need to attempt to balance. These benches are also useful for storing belongings if not enough lockers are available. The result is a more hygienic locker area, with less clutter on the floor for students to trip over
Lockers are our specialist subject 🎓
Here at Direct2U, we are proud to be an A+ student in Locker projects! We have helped many schools across the country upgrade their locker systems to be more efficient and accessible. That is because every time you request a quote with us, we provide you the opportunity to book a free site survey.
We installed 210 Fortis 450 Plastic Lockers in a primary school in Wolverhampton. Students use them to store bags and coats during the school day. Each locker had a swivel latch upgrade, meaning teachers did not need to worry about students losing keys.
Made of Plastic, these lockers can resist daily opening and closing from students and teachers alike. Unlike metal school lockers, they are resistant to rusting when frequently cleaned to maintain high levels of hygiene.
👉 Learn more about this Primary School Locker Project here
In a brand-new school outside London, our Z-Door lockers made a speedy appearance. They needed a series of heavy-duty Z-Door Lockers installed throughout their school within a tight deadline.
Our Armour Steel Z-Door Lockers came to the rescue, offering a sleek and modern appearance. Their 2-compartment orientation created a practical storage space, as clothes and PE kits can be hung up. It took our installation team 4 days to install 315 lockers before the Autumn Term deadline.
Take a peek at the behind-the-scenes of this Locker Project here 👈
Contact us today! ☎️
For more help and information about our range of education lockers, get in touch with our sales team. They know everything about our locker range, and are happy to provide any help you may require! Contact them over the phone, email, or even live chat.