A school needs lockers with 82 × 28 cm compartments if each pupil stores a bag and a coat: that means the 4-door locker (177 × 65 × 40 cm) or the 6-door locker (177 × 97 × 40 cm), which fit six pupils per metre of wall. If pupils only store a phone, a wallet and small items, the 12-door locker is enough, with 41 × 28 cm compartments and twelve pupils per metre. Either way, the locker needs fixing to the wall. This guide covers what fits in each size, how many lockers a real corridor takes and how to organise the keys for a whole school so they are not a problem by October.
Which compartment takes a school bag?
The 82 × 28 cm one. The coat and the bag go under or on top of the shelf, which can be taken out. The door is what decides it, at 78 × 28 cm: a fabric rucksack squashes and goes through, but a wheeled school bag has a rigid frame and needs at least one side of 28 cm or less, so measure one before you decide. This is the compartment of the 4-door and 6-door lockers, which differ only in width, 65 and 97 cm, and fit the same number of pupils per metre.
The 41 × 28 cm compartment of the 12-door locker is for something else: a phone, a wallet, a charger, a pencil case or the calculator for an exam. It is not meant for a school bag, and it is better to say so before a pupil crams one in and forces the door. If your uniform includes a long coat, or pupils keep their PE kit whole, the only compartment where it fits unfolded is the full-height one in the 2-door locker, and the count drops to three pupils per metre.
| What the pupil stores | Compartment | Locker | Pupils per metre of wall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bag and coat | 82 × 28 cm | 4 or 6 doors, 177 cm high | 6 |
| Long coat or uniform, unfolded | Full height × 28 cm | 2 doors, 177 × 65 cm | 3 |
| Phone, wallet, pencil case | 41 × 28 cm | 12 doors, 177 × 97 cm | 12 |
| Small items in a narrow gap | 41 cm high | 4 doors in a single column, 165 × 33 cm | 12 |
The single-column locker, 165 × 33 cm and without legs, is the narrowest in the range and the one that fits best between two classroom doors. In a primary school, height matters too: the top row starts about 95 cm off the floor on the 4 and 6-door lockers and about 136 cm on the 12-door, so give the youngest pupils the lower rows. Every measurement, including the height of each row, is in metal locker dimensions.
How many lockers fit in a corridor?
A class of 25 pupils needs 5 six-door lockers: 30 compartments across 4.85 m of wall, with five spare for pupils who join mid-year. A 12 m clear stretch takes 12 six-door lockers, which occupy 11.64 m and give 72 compartments, almost three classes. Check the width left in the corridor as well: with a door open, a locker takes up 68 cm from the wall, 40 cm of depth plus the 28 cm door.
A school of 300 pupils with a locker each needs 50 six-door lockers and 48.5 m of wall, which nobody has in one run. Split them into five runs of 10 lockers, 9.70 m each, one per floor or per key stage. If pupils only store small items, the same 300 fit in 25 twelve-door lockers and 24.25 m, half the wall. With your number of pupils and metres of corridor, work out how many lockers your school needs.
Do they have to be fixed to the wall?
Yes. A 177 cm locker with a door open, weight in the top compartments and a pupil hanging off the door can tip forwards, and at the change of lessons there are a lot of pupils next to the row at once. Screws and wall plugs for fixing it are not included. Our page on the risks of using a metal locker gives the same warning.
The wall plug depends on the wall: brick and concrete hold well, and on plasterboard you need to find a stud or use plasterboard fixings. Have the drill and the right plugs ready before assembly day.
How do you manage keys for 300 pupils?
Every door has its own lock with two keys, and the system that works is a dull one. Before you hand anything out, number the doors with a label and write down on a list which number each pupil has and which year group they are in. One key goes to the pupil and the other goes on a numbered key cabinet in the school office. At the end of the summer term you collect them by the list, not from memory.
If a pupil loses theirs, the door opens with the one in the cabinet. If that one is missing too, or a lock fails, message us on WhatsApp (+34 614 39 49 16) with your order number and the locker number before forcing anything, and we will reply straight away. The lockers come with a 3-year warranty. All our lockers have key locks, so they will not suit a school that wants each pupil to bring their own padlock, or a code lock reset every year. When each type of lock makes sense is covered in lockers with or without a key.
One colour per key stage
The range comes in five finishes: grey, white, black, black and white, and wood effect. In a large school, one colour per key stage or year group tells them apart at a glance and saves explanations on the first day. The 2, 4, 6 and 12-door lockers are all the same height (177 cm) and depth (40 cm), so a corridor that mixes 6-door and 12-door lockers stays in line.
What about the staff changing room?
In Great Britain, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 cover workplaces, so they apply to the staff changing room and not to the pupils' lockers. Where kitchen, cleaning or site staff have to wear special clothing for work and change at school, regulation 24 requires changing facilities "provided with seating", and regulation 23 requires accommodation for the clothing they take off that "provides suitable security". How to size it is in lockers in the staff changing room: what the Workplace Regulations 1992 require, and how many you need in how many lockers per employee the law requires. If the school has a sports hall with a changing room for PE, the sums are much like those for gym lockers.
Assembly in the summer holidays
The lockers arrive flat-packed, with a manual and a video, and go together with screws in under 15 minutes each. The 50 for a school of 300 pupils add up to less than 12 and a half hours of assembly, plus the wall fixing: a job for the summer holidays, with the corridors empty. The step-by-step guide is in how to assemble a metal locker. Delivery takes 2-3 working days from our UK warehouse, with a tracking number once the order leaves; the details are on the delivery and tracking page.
Before you ask for a quote
- Pupils who need a locker, per key stage or per floor.
- What they store: bag and coat (82 × 28 cm), small items (41 × 28 cm) or a long coat (full height).
- Metres of free wall in each corridor, run by run.
- What the wall is made of, for the fixing plugs.
- Who keeps the spare keys and who keeps the list.
With those five answers, ask for a quote for your school. We usually reply the same working day with the price, including delivery to your postcode, and the invoice is made out to whoever is buying: the school, the PTA or the local authority. From 15 units there is a 5% volume discount, and from 30 units, 10%: the 50 lockers in the example qualify for 10%.
Sources: Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/3004), regulations 23 and 24, as published on legislation.gov.uk. This guide is for orientation only and is not legal advice; before an inspection, check the current text and ask your health and safety adviser.