Partnerships for Schools



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Partnerships for Schools
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Press Releases

Press Releases

‘Best of BSF’ named as PfS announces award winners

27 November 2008

A special school in the London Borough of Lambeth has been named as the most transformational, inspirational and successful Building Schools for Future project in the first ‘Excellence in BSF Awards’.

The Michael Tippett School was selected for the special judges prize from amongst the schools, local authorities, and private sector partners shortlisted for the awards celebrating achievement across all areas of the national programme to transform education.

Tim Byles, Chief Executive of PfS and Chair of the Excellence in BSF Awards judging panel, said: “It sounds like a cliché to bemoan what a difficult job the judging panel had selecting the winners, but in the case of our first Excellence in BSF Awards this was absolutely true.

“If choosing the shortlist from the 70-plus entries was hard enough, selecting the final winners was a real challenge for the panel as each and every entry had something to recommend it. The nominations showcased BSF as a catalyst for exciting and sustainable design in both new and remodelled schools, innovation in how students get involved in transforming their learning environment, and examples of robust partnerships and new leadership teams emerging.

“Each of the 11 winners of the first Excellence in BSF awards are shining examples of the difference BSF can make, but for the judges one project shone more brightly than the rest and that is our Grand Prix winner, the Michael Tippett School. The school for students with profound and multiple learning difficulties has been specifically designed for their special needs – and in the eight months it has been open teachers and parents have already noticed the positive impact of the new learning environment on these young people.

“However, the truth is that the real winners are the students, teachers and communities who will benefit from safe, inspiring and green places to learn thanks to BSF, and that is certainly something worth celebrating.”

The winning projects for the Excellence in BSF Awards 2008 are:

Innovation in Student Engagement:
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council (local authority winner)
Mossley Hollins High School, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (school winner)

Best Transformational Learning Strategy:
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Highly commended: Sunderland

Best Design for a New School:
The Michael Tippett School, Lambeth
Highly commended: Brislington Enterprise College, Bristol

Best Design for a Remodelled School:
Kelmscott School, Waltham Forest

Most Sustainable School Design:
Bideford College, Devon
Highly commended: Highbury Grove School and Samuel Rhodes School, Islington

Innovation in ICT:
Leeds

Best Community Integration:
South Tyneside and Gateshead

Best Operational LEP:
Leeds

Best BSF Academy delivered in Partnership:
The South Maidstone Federation Academies: New Line Learning Academy and The Cornwallis Academy

Best School Team:
Brislington Enterprise College, Bristol

Grand Prix:
The Michael Tippett School, Lambeth

Partnerships for Schools also unveiled plans to launch a charitable trust which will support and enhance the delivery of BSF objectives through funding schemes which help young people and learners make the most of educational and training opportunities.

Tim Byles said: “I am delighted to announce that early next year we will be launching a charitable Foundation that will help support the delivery of educational transformation in BSF schools across the country.

“The BSF Foundation will fund a blend of national and local initiatives that will help every young person identify their talents and achieve their best. Set against the backdrop of a new school environment, projects funded will support non-core curricula activities that take place in and around school – with a particular focus, but not limited to, the most disengaged and disaffected young people in the school system. Discussions are still ongoing to finalise the projects which will range from the arts and sport, through to financial literacy and careers focused schemes.”

Initial projects are likely to include:

  • Magic Breakfast – Magic Breakfast has a two stage approach, first delivering free, healthy breakfast items  to the poorest UK primary schools,  where it is estimated a quarter of children arrive too hungry to learn. Second, to build leadership and social enterprise skills within these school communities, to enable them to self-fund urgently needed food provision;
  • Shakespeare Schools Festival – a charity that works with schools to perform abridged versions of Shakespeare’s works in a professional theatre;
  • Formula 1 in Schools – an organisation that enables schools to take part in an international inter-school competition that encourages young people to consider engineering as a career.

The Foundation will be independent of PfS and Government and will be governed by an independent Board of Trustees, chaired by Sir David Bell, Chairman of the FT and Chairman of Crisis, Common Purpose and Sadlers Wells.

A number of private sector providers in the BSF Community are already signing up to be Founding Members of the Foundation.

Notes to Editors:

  1. The Excellence in BSF Awards were hosted by actor and comedian Rob Brydon in London on 26 November.
  2. The judging panels included experts with a variety of interests in BSF and education issues, including Sir John Sorrell, Professor Tim Brighouse, Stephen Crowne (CEO of Becta), Chris Whitehead (Chair of the PPP Education Forum), Steve Grainger (CEO of the Youth Sports Trust), Richard Simmons (CEO of CABE), and Robin Nicholson, CBE (Chair of the Zero Carbon Task Force).
  3. Further information about the launch of the BSF Foundation will be published in early 2009.
  4. 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 England’s state secondary schools estate during the lifetime of the programme.
  5. 42 BSF schools have now opened, with over 1,000 secondary schools engaged in the programme, between design and delivery. More information about schools already open can be found at: http://www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/programme/school_search.jsp
  6. Partnerships for Schools (PfS) is the delivery organisation 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 DCSF (formerly DfES) and Partnerships UK. PfS is a 100-strong organisation, with specialist expertise including educationalists, designers, ICT specialists, commercial managers and project management.