They reckon that they can cut the construction phase from typically 60 weeks to just 36 weeks
Efficient design and procurement can save more than £1,000 per square metre, cutting the cost of a new primary school from typically £4.5m to just £2.38m, they say.
Called the Adapt Schools Solutions, it provides four educationally led, blueprint designs for schools that can be implemented at any suitable site in the UK.
Through faster design and pre-construction phases, shorter on-site construction periods, lower design fees and easier maintenance, the solutions could create capital savings of 40% for new-build and 60% for refurbished, alternative buildings. The model has been shaped by Wates’ work at Campsmount Technology College in Doncaster, the pilot project cited in the James Review.
As well as reducing the cost of new school buildings, Adapt provides a blueprint for the conversion of existing, alternative buildings such as offices and retail centres to create new school spaces and regenerate communities. With a significant proportion of local government estate currently vacant and with limited prospects for asset sales in flagging regional office markets, the solution will allow councils to make more effective use of their property while improving the quality of educational facilities for local children, the companies say.
There is a forecast shortfall of 70,000 school places in London alone over the next four years and 3,444 primary schools in the UK are already at or over capacity.
Steve Beechey, head of education at Wates, said: “Against a backdrop of reduced funding, and with student numbers reaching near-critical levels in some parts of the country, there is an urgent need for a more efficient and cost-effective way to deliver school places. The UK needs to spend £8.5bn simply to repair existing school buildings which have fallen into disrepair and this money could be put to far better use in delivering the new and refurbished facilities we desperately need.
“The Adapt model will empower local authorities to meet cost-cutting objectives through all the benefits of a standardised approach, without sacrificing the ability to tailor individual schools to local requirements.”
Capita Symonds education director Jane Longfield added: “We believe that Adapt represents a step-change in the way schools are designed and constructed. Our blueprints have been developed to create 21st-century learning environments, even on constrained sites or using alternative buildings.
“The designs are based on using standardised spaces, which can be reconfigured and customised to suit a wide range of different sites, buildings, layouts and adjacencies. We are providing a framework which can deliver robust, fit-for-purpose and flexible schools, just about anywhere.”
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