BAM has won the contract to deliver the new £22m Aylesbury Vale Academy in Buckinghamshire. The project is the second win for BAM under the Partnership for School’s (PfS) national framework in the South East, which saw BAM secure the Medway Academies last year.
‘Aylesbury Vale Academy is the first project within Buckinghamshire County Council’s (BCC) batch which will deliver three new schools worth in excess of £40m,’ explains Keith Rayner, BAM’s Framework Director. ‘It is a very significant win for the business, with BAM now the preferred bidder for the rest of the batch.’
BAM beat off strong competition during the tender stage. ‘Our team in the South East, together with support from central services, worked extremely hard to win this project,’ says Keith. ‘We are all very excited about carrying out the contract and developing further our relationship with Buckinghamshire County Council.’
The building is being designed by Nicholas Hare Architects and the new academy will open for students in September 2013. Work is expected to commence early next year.
The Academy specialises in Science and Technology with ICT. It is organised around a central heart or ‘innovation space’, which features a large ETFE covered atrium. Each of the Academy’s three colleges has a dedicated wing and there will be a terracotta-clad Learning Resource Centre. BAM’s education work in Buckinghamshire has recently included Cressex Community School, and Bucks New University, giving it a strong track record in the area. BAM Properties also developed Glory Park, eco-offices in nearby High Wycombe. BAM won the first of the new tranche of Academies in Bolton last month, to build Kearsley Academy.
