Building Schools for the Future
Building Schools for the Future (BSF ) is a Government initiative intended to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in the country over the next 15 to 20 years.
Gateshead has been successful in securing funding for the upgrading of two schools in the borough in the first wave of this funding. The two schools are Thomas Hepburn Community School and Heworth Grange Comprehensive School. It is hoped that other secondary schools in the borough will be upgraded as part of future Waves of BSF funding.
The council is working on a Joint Project with South Tyneside Council to progress the project in conjunction with the DfES and Partnerships for Schools (PfS ). PfS is a DfES venture created to deliver the BSF Project across the country.
The Joint Project Vision is to create, through radically improved environments for schools, educational climates that will lead to transformational improvements in outcomes for learners. The Project is committed to achieving excellence through partnership. The BSF Project is unique being the only Joint Project at this time.
Three bidders short-listed to build schools for the future
South Tyneside and Gateshead Councils' search for the right partners to help them build 13 new schools across 11 sites through Building Schools for the Future has taken a major step forward.
Gateshead Council and South Tyneside Council have now named three short listed bidders.
They are Bespoke Environments, which comprises Bilfinger Berger Bot and Gleeson amongst others, Excell2gether, which comprises Equion and Shepherd and Inspiredspaces, which includes Carillion.
The final three will be narrowed down to a preferred bidder over the next 12 to 18 months, after which work will begin on site.
The two local authorities came together to form a joint Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project, which will eventually see around £172 million invested in the boroughs' schools over the next decade. This joint bid is unique because it was the only proposal involving two local authorities to be successful. The Primary Care Trusts in South Tyneside and Gateshead are also partners of the project. One of the initial buildings will be a large Primary Care Centre in South Tyneside.
Project director Stanley Johnson said, "We invited education and health professionals, builders, architects, facilities managers, caterers and financiers to a bidders day in July where we introduced the project to the them. Over 170 people attended and following that we received a number of high quality bids.
"We are pleased to announce that after a robust evaluation of the six long listed bidders, we have now short listed to three nationally reputable organisations and look forward to agreeing on a preferred bidder in due course."
BSF projects in South Tyneside will include new buildings and remodelling at secondary schools including Mortimer, Hebburn, Harton, Jarrow, St Joseph's RC and St Wilfrid's RC College, as well as a new building to replace King George V and Brinkburn comprehensives which will merge on one site. Special educational needs schools will also be included in South Tyneside.
In Gateshead, Thomas Hepburn Secondary School in Felling and Heworth Grange Secondary School in Heworth are included in the project.
Councillor Donovan, cabinet member for children and young people at Gateshead Council, said: "It's essential that we secure the services of the best companies available to allow us to realise our vision for education across South Tyneside and Gateshead. We really are building schools for the future in Gateshead and South Tyneside and with them we will be providing 21st century education that best meets the needs of current and future generations."
Councillor Jim Foreman, lead member for children and young people at South Tyneside Council, said: "The theme of the bidder's day in July was 'dream big', and bidders were encouraged to approach the process with an open mind. We feel that the three shortlisted bidders are doing just that. This is a project of enormous importance, which gives us a superb opportunity to create modern schools of which we can all be proud. It is imperative that we select the company that is best-equipped to help us take this opportunity with both hands."
Further Information
If you have any queries about the BSF Project in Gateshead please contact Alison McKinnon on 0191 433 2740 and if you would like to find out more about the South Tyneside Projects please visit their website below.