Smarter schools

Transform Schools, Balfour Beatty’s education sector concession, has been appointed selected bidder for the £200m Southwark Schools for the Future programme.

Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the government’s largest single schools capital investment programme in over 50 years. The programme is expected to cost around £45bn and will last a period of 14 years.

As part of the BSF initiative, Balfour Beatty will deliver major capital investment projects in 13 schools throughout the Southwark borough. The programme will work in three phases and includes the delivery of ICT services and improved classroom facilities.

Balfour Beatty will invest £6m of equity in the programme and has scheduled the first schools to be opened in September 2010 and 2011. Construction work will be undertaken by its subsidiaries, Balfour Beatty Construction and Balfour Kilpatrick, while facilities management will be carried out by Haden Building Management.

The project has also secured funding from the Department for Children, Schools and Families Low Carbon Schools scheme to facilitate the incorporation of renewable energy technologies that will provide a 60 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide use.

Balfour Beatty’s 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.’