Major day for secondary schools in Southwark » Local Government » 24dash.com

Southwark education takes an exciting step forward with the release of two school designs and the announcement of the consortia that is to transform these and other Southwark secondary schools.

The two design proposals are the result of more than 10 months of hard work by Transform Schools, Balfour Beatty’s education sector PPP concession vehicle, who beat strong competition and will now work with the council and national government to form Southwark’s local education partnership.

Over the next five months Transform Schools, Southwark Council and Partnerships for Schools will finalise how they plan to deliver the £200m Southwark schools for the future secondary programme, before signing a ten year partnership contract to carry out the seven school rebuilds, two brand new schools and four building refurbishments across Southwark.

The proposal for one of the first schools, St. Michael’s Catholic School in Bermondsey, includes better student circulation, inspirational learning spaces and state of the art information technology. A huge investment in the future of the students, this will enable teachers to deliver a twenty-first century curriculum that prepares young people for a modern global economy.

The second proposal, for Tuke School in Peckham, is a new building on a new site that will transform the school experience for students with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Tuke students will be able to learn in an ICT rich physical, sensory and learning environment, where the school itself is a learning tool.

Councillor Lisa Rajan, executive member for education and children services, said “Today’s announcement of Transform Schools as Southwark’s selected bidder and the proposed designs of the first two in our Southwark schools for the future secondary programme puts Southwark’s education transformation one step ahead of the rest of London, if not the country. Our vision is ambitious, and we believe not only will the schools make a huge difference to our standards of education, but they will help transform communities across the entire borough.”

Commenting on the award, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive Ian Tyler said “This is Transform Schools’ third full BSF project following our successes in Knowsley on Merseyside and in Islington. We look forward to utilising our experience in working on eight major PPP education projects, in creating first class new learning environments in Southwark.”

Terry Sweeney, Chief Executive of RM, said: “Southwark Council has a bold vision for education in the borough; we’re delighted to be working with our partners as part of Transform Schools to help deliver that vision. Southwark’s BSF programme will deliver inspirational 21st Century learning environments – with great ICT facilities – for pupils and teachers in Southwark.”

Tim Byles, CEO of Partnerships for Schools, the organisation responsible for the national Building Schools for the Future programme, added “The Southwark BSF team has been a model of efficiency, clear thinking and good leadership, and we congratulate them on reaching this important milestone. It is good news for the progress of the BSF programme nationally and even better news for the learners and communities in the borough. The new and improved buildings, facilities and technology will have an enormous impact on the education and life chances of every young person in Southwark, and I look forward to charting the progress of BSF in Southwark.”