Partnerships for Schools



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Press Releases

Press Releases

Best of BSF revealed as PfS announces 2009 award winners

13 November 2009

A school in one of the most deprived areas of Leicester which has seen students flourish since moving into their new school building earlier this year has been awarded the Grand Prix in the Excellence in BSF Awards 2009.

Beaumont Leys School - a new school built as part of the national Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme - was selected by the judges for the Grand Prix from amongst the schools, local authorities, and private sector partners shortlisted for the awards celebrating achievement across all areas of the national programme to improve educational outcomes and life chances for young people.

Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools and Chair of the Excellence in BSF Awards judging panel, said: "This year's entries captured the excitement, innovation and real sense of the difference BSF is making to young people, to teachers and to communities across the country, making it an even tougher job for us to select the winners from across the 19 categories.

"Each of our award-winning and highly commended projects is a shining beacon of how BSF is having a positive impact on so many areas of life: from getting pupils involved in making decisions about their new schools; providing buildings and facilities which can be used by the entire community for education and leisure; developing robust public-private partnerships that deliver value for money to the public purse; and giving leadership teams the chance to implement new strategies to help students reach their full potential.

"From all of this year's BSF awards, one project stood out for a number of reasons. Beaumont Leys opened six weeks ahead of schedule, thanks to the strong relationship developed over many months between the school leadership team, the local authority and the private sector partner, but the real difference - which I am delighted to have seen for myself - is in the attitude, self-esteem and motivation of the pupils after moving into their new school in April.

"The Excellence in BSF Awards also provide us with an opportunity to reflect on how far the programme has come over the past 12 months and to celebrate the 110,000 pupils, as well as teachers and communities who are now benefitting from safe, inspiring and green places to learn thanks to BSF."

The winning projects for the Excellence in BSF Awards 2009 are:

Best Change Programme

  • Winner: London Borough of Southwark
  • Highly Commended: Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Innovation in Student Engagement

  • School winner: City Academy, Hackney
  • Local authority winner: Somerset County Council
  • Highly Commended: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council

Innovation in PE & Sport

  • Winner: London Borough of Lambeth

Education For All Award

  • Winner: Lancashire County Council for Pendle Vale College and Pendle High School
  • Highly Commended: London Borough of Lambeth

Adviser of the Year

  • Winner: Bryanston Square

Most Versatile Learning Environment:

  • Winner: Joseph Rowntree School, York

Most Inspirational Use of Outdoor Space

  • Highly Commended: Milton Keynes Academy, Milton Keynes - BDP

Most Effective ICT Partnering

  • Winner: Sheffield/Civica
  • Highly Commended: Leeds/RM

Community Hub Award

  • Winner: Catalyst Lend Lease, Burnley Campus, Lancashire

Buildings Beyond Schools Award

  • Winner: Inspiredpaces STaG LEP for Cleadon Park Primary Care Centre, South Tyneside and Gateshead

Innovation in Sustainability

  • Winner: Hope Academy, Newton Le Willows - St Helens

Design Adviser of the Year - the Jonathan Ibikunle Award

  • Winner: Catherine Brownell, Southwark BSF

Best BSF Academy

  • Winner: Sunderland 360
  • Highly Commended: The Wellington Academy, Wiltshire

Best Design for a New School

  • Winner: Park Hall School, Solihull - Nicholas Hare Architects
  • Highly Commended: St Mary Magdalene Academy, Islington - Fielden Clegg Bradley Architects

Best Design for a Remodelled School

  • Winner: Elm Court Special School, Lambeth - JM Architects
  • Highly Commended: Westminster City School, Westminster - Anshen and Allen

BSF School of the Year

  • Winner: Beaumont Leys School, Leicester

Local Authority of the Year

  • Joint winners: Southwark Council and the London Borough of Lambeth

Local Education Partnership of the Year

  • Winner: inspiredspaces Nottingham Ltd
  • Highly Commended: Sheffield and Newcastle

Grand Prix

  • Winner: Beaumont Leys School, Leicester

The Excellence in BSF Awards evening also included a charity auction to raise money for the Transformation Trust, an independent charity set up by PfS to provide extra-curricular activities for students in new BSF learning environments across England to help them develop new skills, new interests and to increase self-esteem and confidence.


Notes to Editors:

  1. The Excellence in BSF Awards were hosted by comedian Dara O Briain in London on 12 November.
  2. The judging panels included experts with a variety of interests in BSF and education issues. The Overarching Judging Panel consisted of: Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools; Susan Anderson, Director, Public Services and Skills, Confederation of British Industry; Stephen Crowne, Chief Executive, Becta; Steve Grainger, Youth Sport Trust; Robin Nicholson, CABE Commissioner, Edward Cullinan Architects; Sir John Sorrell, Founder, The Sorrell Foundation; David Swarbrick, Managing Director, New Business, Balfour Beatty Capital; Caroline Whalley, Chair, British Council for School Environments.
  3. 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.
  4. PfS is the government's delivery agent for the full suite of capital investment programmes into schools, helping ensure that taxpayers get the best value from every education pound spent.
  5. Building Schools for the Future is the largest capital investment programme for 50 years that will provide world-class teaching and learning environments for all pupils, teachers and communities in England. Over the lifetime of the programme, BSF will help improve the life chances of 3.3m children every year.
  6. Nearly a third of all secondary schools in England - in 85 local authorities across England - are now involved in the BSF programme.
  7. 129 schools have now benefitted from BSF investment across the country, 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
  8. More information about The Transformation Trust can be found at: www.transformationtrust.org.uk/