Comparative Study on the British Colonial School Buildings in Old Calabar (Nigeria) and Famagusta (North Cyprus)

British Colonial Period in various colonies in the world exerted impacts on the total life of the colonized, showing in physical layout modifications, socio-political institutional structures, economic and infrastructural development dimensions of the settlements. Schools in British Period served as Imperial syndicate to enforce compliance through formal education, community meeting place and centers for extra-curricular activities. The school buildings stood as icon and heritage assets in their locations with measures of both tangible and intangible heritage values. They also represent the Colonial Architecture of British Empire that shows hybridization of local and modern stylistic approaches and box philosophy of design. Today their historical, architectural, environmental and educational significance should construe the evidence for registering and preserving them for future generations. This research aims to compare the school buildings of the British colonial period in Old Calabar, Nigeria and Famagusta, North Cyprus. The methodology of the thesis is qualitative method, firstly via literature reviews of the keywords of the thesis title. Secondly, through case study that entails field survey to make selection based on the school buildings that were built during British Period in Old Calabar, Nigeria (1885-1960) and Famagusta, North Cyprus (1878-1960). The field study area will be limited to the 2 Local Government Areas in Calabar and 13 districts in Famagusta. The case study involves historic analysis and physical analysis of the selected cases that will be supported by observations, photographs and measurements to achieve the stated aims. In order to appreciate the physical characteristics of the buildings their architectural assessment will be limited to the spatial organization, formal organization, architectural details, building materials and structural system of each case. This thesis has five Chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the need for studying the subject and background of the study. Chapter 2 includes the theoretical framework through literature review of British Colonial Architecture and Colonial schools. The British Colonial Period in Calabar and Famagusta will be discussed in Chapter 3. The analysis of the selected school buildings and the findings on the comparison of the school buildings of the two regions will be given in Chapter 4, regarding their architectural assessments’ outcome. Chapter 5 takes up the conclusion of the thesis. The findings generated proves that linear spatial organization, load bearing structural system, repetition of spaces with similar functions, use of materials like (stones, wood, metal, glass and concrete) constitute the similarities between the schools. Differences occurs in the arcades form, roof form and slope and the wall thickness between two context’s school structures. For the differences, Calabar school buildings show repetition of arcaded/straight terraces, steep roof slopes and slender stone walls while Famagusta ones show repetition of arcades with straight post and lintel character, flat/gentle roof slopes and massive stone walls due to the contrasting climatic conditions. Keywords: British Colonial period, British Colonial architecture, school buildings, Old Calabar, Famagusta.