What does it cost to do up a school?

The cessation of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) has put at risk investment in more than 2,500 secondaries. Work will still be required on a large number to adapt them to new teaching methods and deal with building defects, but it is likely that more projects will be refurbished or refreshed than the 50% of schools earmarked by the BSF programme.

This change of emphasis means project teams will have to make optimum use of limited resources to bring the best out of existing buildings, using selective changes to circulation, space-planning, environmental management, furniture and so on.

Much of the work will concern the adaptation of school buildings so they can better support modern teaching. School buildings are often well designed and do not necessarily need a big intervention to update, although some ingenuity may be necessary to accommodate methods that are not based on traditional layouts.

Many schools operate out of a portfolio of buildings that have been modified over time. These will be of varying quality and condition, so comprehensive and up-to-date survey information will be important for early design and feasibility work.

Obvious defects that affect pupils’ experience, such as unsafe or unsanitary toilets, will need to be corrected and building performance will need to be improved to meet sustainability commitments. Ironically, the build quality and durability of schemes from the sixties and eighties is often poorer than older buildings and often more likely to require major repair or replacement.

Refurbishment work can typically be classified as either a light-touch refresh or a full refurbishment. A refresh will involve new finishes and decorations and works related to ICT systems. Some of the most effective enablers of a refresh are flexible furniture and storage. Furniture that can be easily reconfigured to allow for different teaching styles enables the qualities of existing spaces in schools to be fully exploited.

By contrast, a refurbishment will involve changes to layout, circulation and accessibility, renewed building systems and possibly specialist teaching facilities. Heating, lighting and small power will need to be reconfigured, and it may be more cost effective to renew systems than to patch and mend.

The difference in cost is substantial: a refresh typically costs £700 to £800/m2 excluding abnormals such as repairs, asbestos or decant, and a refurbishment will cost about £1,500 to £1,600/m2. In reality, most school projects will involve a combination of the two, possibly with new-build elements.

Many schools are known to have problems associated with accumulated maintenance backlogs and the legacy of decades of piecemeal adaptation, extension and repair work.

These will need to be addressed to assure the long-term performance of the building.