Partnerships for Schools



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Partnerships for Schools
33 Greycoat Street
London SW1P 2QF

Press Releases

Press Releases

Press release: Preferred bidder for Waltham Forest

10 November 2006

Waltham Forest Council has today announced the appointment of the Bouygues Partnership for Education and the Community (BPEC) as the preferred bidder for its Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which will see £200 million invested in the borough’s schools.

The initiative will see the launch of a new 10-year partnership between Partnerships for Schools, the Council and BPEC to refurbish or rebuild all the secondary schools in the borough.

Key members of the partnership will include construction company Bouygues and HSBC. Education ICT specialist Ramesys will provide a managed ICT service, initially to all secondary schools in Walthamstow and, by 2010, to all secondary schools in the borough.

The building programme will commence with an all-new PFI-funded secondary school. Construction will start early in 2007 and opening is scheduled for September 2008. Also included amongst the early projects is the £17m refurbishment of the listed Walthamstow Girls School.

The aim of the BSF programme is to help boost pupils' attainment and teaching standards through providing first-class, modern and inspirational buildings which will also help to encourage high quality teaching.

The Council will form a Local Education Partnership (LEP) with BPEC and Partnerships for Schools, the body set up by the DfES to deliver the BSF programme. The LEP will be a long-term partnership that undertakes to build or refurbish schools and to maintain them properly over their lifetime. All of Waltham Forest’s secondary schools will eventually be included.

Cllr Chris Robbins, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services said “Waltham Forest’s children deserve the best, in teaching, buildings and ICT. We are delighted and impressed with the imagination and innovation with which BPEC have approached our project, and look forward to working with them closely over the next 10 years.”

Partnerships for Schools’ Chief Executive Tim Byles said “We congratulate Waltham Forest on reaching this milestone in their BSF programme. Over 4,500 local pupils will benefit from this phase of work alone, and we look forward to working with the Council and BPEC to see the new and refurbished schools through to delivery.“

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

  1. Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the largest single schools capital investment programme for over 50 years. The aim is to rebuild or renew every one of England?s 3,500 state secondary schools during the 15-year lifetime of the £45 billion programme.
  2. Partnerships for Schools (PfS) is the delivery agency for Building Schools for the Future. PfS was established in April 2004 as a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), and is operated and funded under a joint venture between DfES and Partnerships UK.
  3. The schools that will be affected by this funding are: Aveling Park, Walthamstow School for Girls, Whitefields, Warwick School for Boys, Willowfield, William Morris, Holy Family and Kelmscott.
  4. The other shortlisted bidders on this project were: Skanska IIC and Kier Education.
  5. The advisers working with the Council on this project are: Nabarro Nathanson, GTUK, Turner Townsend, and SOCITM.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:  
Ruth Evans, Communications Officer, London Borough of Waltham Forest
020 8496 4726
ruth.evans@walthamforest.gov.uk