The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has appointed a preferred contractor for the Capital Framework North East Batch A of priority schools.

BAM Construction, based in Gateshead, has been appointed as preferred bidder for the batch of five secondary schools following a competitive process under the framework.

The sample school in the batch is Kepier in Houghton Le Spring. The future schools include two secondary schools in Hartlepool - English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College and High Tunstall College of Science, plus Whickham School in Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham Community Business College. The combined value of the schools is approximately £67 million.

Tony Fitzgerald, Project Director for BAM, said:

“What we sought to do is listen carefully and understand the requirements and aspirations of the ESFA and the school to ensure we provide a high quality and efficient design solution to meet their needs, but also provide the ESFA with value for money.

“Our experience in the education sector is second to none, and BAM’s collaborative culture is always a very helpful resource when working on education buildings. The learning environment is holistic. That means we get to engage with the people who will ultimately use the buildings and their communities and create opportunities for them and not just a finished building.”

Lead architect is Ryder with whom the region has won schools before, while BAM Design (Architecture & Structures) is appointed to undertake two of the schools in the batch and BAM Design (MEP) three schools.

ESFA Project Manager Andrew Mowforth said that BAM has worked very well with the school staff and the ESFA to produce an excellent design on the site and looked forward to working with BAM during the construction of the new school building.