There should definitely be classrooms, a library, and a courtyard in the center of the academy.

I think we should build the rooms in a fortress-like rectangle, leaving the center area open to form a courtyard. We could have a small pond on one side of the courtyard, perhaps, while the other side is devoted to fighting / sparring practice. We could add a small, one- or two-story tower atop each corner to hold dormitories.

The inside of the fortress-like wall will contain rooms on the inner side (the better to avoid distractions from the outside) and a hallway will lead along the outside of the academy.

@LL Woah there, I think we should start out small or risk being smited like Jianheim.

Onarax is right. Starting out with just, say, the courtyard and a couple small buildings should be enough to give us the kickstart. Over time, we can add things, but we are not making anything that looks even slightly like a fortress. Not just because of what happened to the last one, but also because this is a place of learning and introspection, and when i think of that I think of monasteries.

How many monasteries look like fortresses? None.

But to be honest, I've always liked the idea of a one-building center. Think Greek style. Here's a Wikipedia aritcle that sums it all up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteora#List_of_Monasteries

I like the style EW has in mind for the school but I've always liked the idea of having an open space in the middle of the building for a type of courtyard.

My idea was to have a few huts around a courtyard. Most huts would have a classroom and teacher's bedroom. One would be the library and the last few would be student dorms.

There can totally be a courtyard with my idea. It could be a detached one or a smaller one within the enclave.

I want to avoid the one building idea, because realistic it seems more likely it would first be built as a bunch of huts with pathways linking them together. We can upgrade it later into one main building.

I guess we could start off small like that and turn it into a building as we progress but just saying, the huts are going to have to be pretty darn big and numerous.