Description: School buildings come to be seen as iconic for various reasons. Sometimes it might be because a school is quite distinctive, but alternatively it might be because it is a particularly good example of a certain, well-used style. For example, Woodlea School, Hampshire (Dudek, 2000), built in the 1990s, was envisaged as a local solution for a particular site by Local Authority (LA) architects who are noted for designing schools which differ from each other. In apparent contrast, Eveline Lowe School, London (Maclure, 1984), opened 1966, looks superficially very similar to many schools built by LA architects and consortia across the UK during the 1960s and '70s. Yet, at the time of building, Eveline Lowe was considered revolutionary, while, with hindsight and future developments, Woodlea may come to be seen as more archetypal than distinctive. Clearly a major factor in how a school goes on to be perceived, both in its own right, and, inevitably, in comparison to others, is how it fits into the historic development of school buildings. The nature of this development will be influenced by educational and architectural reactions to and interactions with the school building, but also by more general influences, such as political, economic and cultural changes (Woolner et al., 2005). Methodology: Literature review, encompassing historical reflections on schools and contempory accounts.Limited interviews with some current users of certain iconic schools. Conclusions: Improved understanding of · how perceptions of schools change with time; · what factors influence these changes; and· the extent to which categories of distinctive and archetypal schools overlap.