Government green light for second phase of Newcastle’s £220m educational programme

Published: 2009-08-21

Issued by Newcastle City Council and Aura

The second phase of Newcastle’s groundbreaking £220m Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme has been given the ‘green light’ by government. The first four city schools to be built under the second phase will start on site this month.

Aura Newcastle, the local education partnership delivering Newcastle’s BSF programme of which PB is a member, has now received approval on the first four schools in the second phase with Financial Close on the remaining four schools expected later this year and an on-site start soon after.

All eight second phase schools will be complete and operational by the end of 2012, bringing the total number of new BSF schools in Newcastle to 16.

“The second phase of our BSF programme will transform a further eight secondary and specialist schools across the city,” explains Kirsty Thirlwell, Aura Newcastle’s Chief Executive.

“This builds on the success of the programme’s first phase which has already delivered eight schools in the city. In total, when we have completed the BSF programme, some 14,000 school children in Newcastle will be benefiting from new transformational learning environments with additional community facilities, which will also benefit other young people and Newcastle residents generally.”

Aura works closely with the city council to raise aspirations, opportunities and educational achievement in Newcastle. As the largest educational investment in the city’s history, all 16 BSF schools will include state-of-the-art facilities with excellent sporting amenities, flexible learning environments and modern ICT technology and software.

“Our aim is to provide transformational learning – with bespoke educational environments and real opportunities for personalised learning,” notes Kirsty.

The four schools involved at this stage of phase two are Gosforth High School, the largest in the second phase with nearly 1,800 pupils, St Cuthbert’s RC School and special schools, Trinity Dene View and Trinity Oakfield.

Aura is delivering and part-funding the Newcastle BSF programme. It is also designing, building and maintaining the schools and has already delivered more new BSF schools across the country than any other local education partnership. This level of delivery is made possible through the expertise and resource of its private sector partners: PB, Sir Robert McAlpine and Robertson Capital Projects.

For more information contact:
Aura - Kirsty Thirlwell on 0191 226 2023 or kirsty.thirlwell@aura-lc.com

Notes to Editors:

The Building Schools for the Future project in Newcastle is managed by Aura Newcastle, the Local Education Partnership. Partners in Aura are Newcastle City Council, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Sir Robert McAlpine, Robertson Capital Projects and Building Schools for the Future Investments.

Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the largest single schools capital investment programme for over 50 years. The aim is to rebuild or renew England’s state secondary schools estate during the lifetime of the programme.
 

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