£370m schools programme given green light

THE multi-mullion pound transformation of education in Wolverhampton is set to begin within the next few weeks after the Government gave the final green light to the project.

The city’s £370m Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme is one of 44 in England to be given the final go-ahead by education secretary Michael Gove.

It was not all good news for the region though as other programmes across the West Midlands were either scrapped altogether or only partially passed.

In Wolverhampton, 26 schools including two new academies will be built or completely refurbished between now and 2014.

The first phase will begin later this month when the chosen developer inspiredspaces commences works on the new joint building for Highfields Science Specialist School and Pennfields Special School.

At the same time, refurbishment of the King’s Church of England School, in Tettenhall, will get underway as Tettenhall Wood Special School moves onto the same site.

inspiredspaces is a company set up by Wolverhampton-based support services group Carillion and its joint venture partners to deliver projects for the Government’s BSF programme.

Carillion was appointed as the preferred bidder for the programme in February, meaning it had secured contracts worth around £1.7bn for the BSF programme across the country.

Wolverhampton City Council leader Cllr Neville Patten said: “It is great news for our learners, schools, communities and the city as a whole that construction work involving our first four schools is about to begin.

“This is the biggest educational transformation project ever seen in Wolverhampton and will provide learning environments that engage and inspire our young people, their teachers and the wider community.

“After working extremely hard to reach this stage, it is excellent news that local people will shortly begin to see the first physical signs of improvement in the city and surrounding areas.”

• Elsewhere in the West Midlands:

All programmes in Coventry have been stopped except one, the Sidney Stringer Academy, which will proceed unaffected.

The same applies with Worcestershire where only the Tudor Grange Academy, in Worcester, is up for discussion.

Only two projects, the Landau Forte Academy and JCB Academy, have survived unscathed in Staffordshire, with one more lined up for discussion but the remainder stopped.

Both Birmingham and Sandwell have seen a mixed bag with multiple sites proceeding unaffected while others have been tabled for discussion or stopped completely.

Three projects in Walsall are in line for discussions with the remainder stopped while Warwickshire’s solitary scheme, the Nuneaton Academy, was put forward for discussion.

All programmes in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Solihull, Stoke and Telford will proceed unaffected as originally planned.