Interserve has been selected by the Department for Education (DfE) as the preferred bidder to design and build the £8m Beacon College Special Academy in Hereford
This is the seventh new school build project that Interserve has won this year following earlier contract wins in Bristol, Leicestershire and Manchester worth more than £41m. The acquisition of the Beacon College Special Academy contract underscores the company’s successful strategy of focusing on key education projects in the UK.
Operated by Barrs Court School Academy Trust, a specialist in Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) teaching, the Beacon College Special Academy will create a facility for pupils with a range of specialist needs. The school will provide places for 50 pupils, aged from 16 to 19, with severe and complex learning difficulties, including autism.
In a drive to increase the capacity for special needs free schools, the DfE has recently provided new opportunities for local authorities to identify where a new special free school would benefit their local community.
Having commissioned 19 feasibility studies for special schools nationally, the proposed new facility in Hereford was chosen because of its proximity to three further education providers, with Beacon College joining an existing high performing special school in Herefordshire
The existing Broadlands Primary School will be demolished, and the project will encompass the removal of asbestos, existing services and works necessary to create a clear site, upon which Interserve will construct the new-build school. The project will commence on site in January 2020 and will complete January 2021 ready for opening in April 2021
Interserve’s success on being confirmed the preferred bidder for the DfE contract aligns with its construction strategy to target attractive risk-adjusted returns in the sectors where it has a market leading customer proposition. These include health, education, and local authority Framework projects; infrastructure; commercial; retail and the private rental sector.
Interserve has wide-ranging experience of delivering world-class special education facilities and this latest contract follows similar SEND projects in Bristol and Manchester.
Simon Butler, divisional director at Interserve, said: “Being named preferred bidder for the Beacon College Special Academy project by the Department for Education reflects well on Interserve’s strong track record for delivering first-rate SEND school projects across the UK.
“We are able to draw on a wide range of experience and expertise within Interserve to build outstanding educational facilities by a locally-based team of construction professionals. We are delighted to once again be the trusted partner of choice for the Department for Education, and Beacon College adds to our portfolio of work in the UK education sector.”
