City Academy work continues despite government overhaul

Design teams are ploughing ahead with City Academy schemes despite the government declaring its intention to shake up the procurement of the programme of new schools.

Contractors are lining up to build two schemes in London as well as new academies in Slough and Dartford. Work also started on a new academy in Peterborough, called the Thomas Deacon Academy, last week.

The move comes in spite of the declared intention of the Department for Education and Skills to align the construction of future academies more closely to the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which aims to rebuild or refurbish every secondary school in the country.

One of the bidding contractors said consultants had informed them such an alignment was some way off. The contractor said: “It’s not going to happen overnight. The industry is waiting to see whether the BSF programme really gets off the ground before the two initiatives will come together.”

Contractors including HBG, Sir Robert McAlpine ISG InteriorExterior and Bovis Lend Lease are believed to be in the running to build another academy designed by architect Foster and Partners. The Slough scheme will replace the existing Langleywood School and will specialise in science. The school is sponsored by the Arbib Foundation and the QS is Davis Langdon.

Firms understood to include Laing O’Rourke, ISG InteiorExterior and Wates are in the running for the Leigh Academy in Dartford, Kent. BDP is the architect and multidisciplinary consultant on the project. The QS is also Davis Langdon.

QS News further understands that five consortia of contractors and architects have qualified to bid for two academies promoted by the Corporation of London on sites in Islington and Hackney.

• Contractor Bovis Lend Lease has won two new office schemes, a £35m office scheme for the Corporation of London and a £16m new block for Microsoft at the Thames valley Park near Reading. The first scheme is next to the corporation’s present headquarters in the City and the project team includes project manager Trench Farrow and architect TP Bennett. The second scheme’s design team includes QS Turner & Townsend and project manager Jones Lang LaSalle.