Liverpool council draws up £100m schools plan

LIVERPOOL City Council has unveiled a plan to invest £100m in its secondary schools following the cancellation of £350m worth of projects when the Government abandoned the Building Schools for the Future programme.

The council said that leader Joe Anderson had commissioned a Task Force led by Liverpool Vision chief Max Steinberg to look at rescuing some of the projects that had been due to take place as part of Wave Six of the BDF programme.

It is proposing a modular building system to be used in a two-phase programme of improvements – the first of which has targeted eight schools considered to be in greatest need of investment.

The system, known as Edventure, can deliver school improvements for half the cost of the projects that were planned under the BSF system, the council said.

Known as Edventure, it involves building structures similar to airport terminal buildings where internal layouts can be easily adapted.

Cllr Anderson said: “When the Government axed our Building Schools for the Future programme, we were determined to find an alternative way forward to make sure our youngsters get the best possible start in life.

“I would like to thank Max Steinberg and the Task Force for their hard work over the last year, and I am pleased that the city council is now in a position to bring forward some firm, deliverable proposals for consideration.”

The schemes to be undertaken during the first phase of the development include the relocation of the Archbishop Beck Catholic High School; construction of St John Bosco Arts College at Stonebridge Cross and a new Notre Dame Catholic College as part of the Project Jennifer regeneration scheme – all of which will use the Edventure method.

Other works include a partial rebuild of Holly Lodge Girls College, a relocation of Archbishop Blanch CofE and St Hilda’s CofE High Schools on the Edge Lane corridor; and a  rebuild and co-location of St Julie’s Catholic High and St Francis Xavier’s College on the Beaconsfield campus, alongside a new shared sixth form college.

A second wave of schemes has been earmarked to be undertaken after 2015, but Liverpool Council said that these would require financial contributions from central government.

These include refurbs of the Clifford Holroyde Special School, Abbots Lea Special School, Bellerive Catholic college and The Bluecoat school, alongside a rebuild of St Margaret’s Church CofE High School.