BAM appointed to £24m redevelopment scheme at Wigan high school

Construction firm BAM has won a £24m contract to build a three-storey teaching block for Fred Longworth High School, in Tyldesley, Wigan.

The contract has been awarded through the Department for Education’s high value framework to redevelop the school.

BAM is scheduled to hand over the new block in September 2023. It will be Net Zero Carbon in Operation.

BAM is using its in-house expertise, taking on architecture, M&E, sustainability and fixtures and fittings responsibility thanks to its integrated capabilities from BAM Design, while Hydrock is providing fire and acoustics, Nexus delivers ICT, and Dally Henderson Landscape.

The second phase involves the demolition of the majority of the existing school and construction of new sports pitches. This part of the project is due to be ready for spring 2024.

The project would increase the capacity of the school from 1,275 students to 1,350.

Regional director for BAM Construction in the North West, Ian Fleming, said: “We have a very strong track record in the education sector across the UK and here in the North West, where we have delivered education facilities serving some 7,000 students over the past five years alone.

Ian Fleming

“Our ability to create net zero schools and use modern techniques such as our suite of digital construction methods and off-site manufacture and assembly allows us to reduce risks to our people and speed up delivery for the school.”

He added: “I’m looking forward to seeing us make excellent progress and to working with our friends and partners at the school and drawing out some benefits for the community around us.”

Fred Longworth is one of four Wigan schools earmarked for redevelopment under the DfE’s £1bn School Rebuilding Programme.