Gordon Brown's £45 billion plan to rebuild England's schools is in danger of producing classrooms which are not fit for lessons, a report has warned.
Currently, most school buildings date back to before the era of computers and represent the past, not the future, the study said.
Children and teachers should be involved in designing new buildings, according to the report by the British Council for School Environments (BCSE) and the British Educational Suppliers Association.
Ty Goddard, director of the BCSE, said: "We need a process that will meet the needs of the pupils, teachers and communities.
"School building investment opens the door to a fantastic opportunity to transform our education system.
"If we squander it, we risk ending up with new schools that won't work."
The report said: "If we do not spend time to consider these core principles, there is a real danger that the benefits of this massive investment will be wasted.
"We will be left with school buildings which are not fit for purpose and may be obsolete even before they are occupied."
