The school buildings are set amongst landscaped grounds with assembly and play areas, sporting facilities, stone-pitched terraces and mature shade trees.

Timber felling was a major early occupation in the area, which from the 1840s formed part of an extensive lease where Captain Thomas Boyland grazed cattle, sheep and horses.

Land use in the area shifted to cultivation, taking advantage of the fertile soils; scrub was cleared and crops planted, with produce later transported to market via nearby Oxley Creek.

The continued importance and development of the Darling Downs made the Ipswich Road the main route to the interior, and the initial rough track was surveyed in the 1860s.

Schools became a community focus, a symbol of progress, and a source of pride, with enduring connections formed with past pupils, parents, and teachers.

From the 1860s until the 1960s, Queensland school buildings were predominantly timber-framed, an easy and cost-effective approach that also enabled the government to provide facilities in remote areas.

Standard designs were continually refined in response to changing needs and educational philosophy and Queensland school buildings were particularly innovative in climate control, lighting, and ventilation.

[13][14][15] The picturesque buildings, designed by architect Richard Suter, were sited in the southwest corner of the grounds, with a steep slope to the east leading down to a watercourse just outside the boundary.

[18] [1] With the arrival of the Southern and Western railways (Brisbane and Ipswich extension) as far as Oxley West in 1874,[19] improved access led to a population increase in the area.

Employed by the Department of Public Instruction, Robert Ferguson was responsible for school building design between 1879 and 1885 and he was the first to give serious consideration to the ventilation of interiors.

The early and continuing commitment to play-based education, particularly in primary school, resulted in the provision of outdoor play space and sporting facilities, such as ovals and tennis courts.

Achieving an ideal or even adequate level of natural light in classrooms, without glare, was of critical importance to educators and consequently it became central to the design and layout of all school buildings.

The Dutch-gable roof featured a prominent ventilation fleche, and each classroom had a centred ceiling vent and a large bank of casement windows, with fanlights, on the southern wall.

[73][74][75] Between 1932 and 1935 the tennis courts to the north of Block B were renovated (officially opened September 1932), and the playing area and sports oval to the east were extended and levelled.

[104][105][106][107][108] The final plans (December 1951) show the building comprised a long highset structure, orientated east–west, with domestic science (east) and manual arts (west) training areas accessed by a north-facing verandah.

[111][112] Responding to materials shortages and the pressures of the baby boom, the DPW imported a British prefabricated building system from manufacturers Boulton & Paul Ltd of Norwich.

[1] The lowset Boulton & Paul Building at Sherwood State School comprised a single 24-foot-4-inch (7.42 m) x 24-foot-8-inch (7.52 m) classroom and a 6-foot-6-inch (1.98 m) wide northern verandah, which had a glazed screen at the northwest corner.

The walls were constructed from prefabricated units, predominantly 4 feet (1.2 m) wide (with the exception of panels at the northwest and southwest corners), with those on the north and south sides contained large areas of windows.

[92][23] In 1964 one acre (0.4ha) of land was purchased on the opposite side of McCulla Street, and a swimming pool was constructed and opened there in 1967, the school's centenary year.

[1] The Ferguson-designed school building (Block D, western section) had its dividing classroom partition demolished and rebuilt to the south, and openings formed in the eastern verandah wall onto kitchenette / amenity areas.

School buildings occupy the elevated western half of the site, with a playing field to the east, separated by stone-pitched retaining terraces.

[1] The northern and southern walls have banks of timber-framed casement and pivot windows, with modern louvred fanlights, sheltered by skillion hoods with decorative timber brackets.

It comprises an engraved marble board on a timber backing, and reads "SHERWOOD STATE SCHOOL – IN HONOUR OF PAST PUPILS WHO SERVED IN THE GREAT WAR.

The northeast corner of the understorey (former laundry and drying area) is battened and sheeted, and the northern side is enclosed with modern timber lattice.

These include: teaching buildings constructed to standard designs; and generous, landscaped sites with mature trees, assembly and play areas, and sporting facilities.

[1] The Ferguson-designed school building retains some characteristics of its early standardised design, including: timber-framed structure with high-pitched gable roof; verandahs (eastern enclosed); decorative timberwork; gable-end windows with skillion hoods; coved ceilings with stop-chamfered timber collar ties; early internal linings; and ventilation features such as louvred gable vents.

[1] The suburban timber school building is a good, intact example of its type, retaining its: highset timber-framed structure with play space beneath; symmetrical plan form of classrooms and verandahs; projecting teachers room; coved ceiling and metal tie rods; early internal linings; and ventilation system including remnant vents at floor level and decorative roof fleche.

[1] The former vocational training building is an early iteration of its type and retains some external characteristics including: highset (eastern end) timber-framed structure with verandah along one side; chamferboard cladding; and banks of south-facing casement windows, with fanlights.

The well-composed timber school buildings, with their Dutch-gable rooflines, prominent roof fleches, open verandahs and projecting teachers rooms, set amongst mature trees and landscaped gardens, are an attractive feature along Sherwood Road and a landmark for the area.

They typically retain significant and enduring connections with former pupils, parents, and teachers; provide a venue for social interaction and volunteer work; and are a source of pride, symbolising local progress and aspirations.