Carillion and joint venture partners the Local Education Partnership (LEP) achieved financial close on the programme in December 2007. The vision and objective of the consortium ‘inspiredspaces' is to leave a legacy to the local community through training, local employment and use of local supply chain.
"Designing a school for the future is about ensuring the building is flexible. The school needs to operate today but we must anticipate as far as possible how teaching methods may change; a good design must be capable of responding to rapidly changing technology." Ian Kennedy, Director Ryder Architecture explained.
Individual elements of the project include the following diverse projects which highlight the huge challenge presented by BSF to all companies involved in making this huge financial investment a reality. Ian Kennedy went on to say:
"One of the biggest challenges when designing an educational building is bringing the varying requirements of the school, authority, community and any other stakeholders together in a coherent design, a good case in point the South Tyneside and Gateshead Councils' BSF programme where we have worked very successfully with Carillion and joint venture partners the Local Education Partnership (LEP). Each stakeholder has different interests and priorities. Our job is to design a building which accommodates these differences and gives each user a sense of ownership."
Mortimer Community College
Construction of the new school has begun on the existing school site, with some of the existing school building being retained. The design has been developed to unify the old and new with a central street being created to ccommodate 1090 students. The school remains operational throughout the construction period and no students will be decanted whilst construction is taking place. The CABE review carried out before planning permission was granted commented: "The simplicity of this scheme is refreshing; it is practical, it responds well to the existing building and to its landscape setting..."
Jarrow School
Construction of the new school has begun on the existing school site. It is organised around five collaboratives and will accommodate 990 students with a 60 place autism unit. The school remains operational throughout the construction period and there will be no decanting. Ryder worked with the school to develop a proposal making use of different levels on the site. The new school will create a strong presence close to the entrance to the site.
Cleadon Park Primary Care Centre
The planning application for this new type of facility was approved in March 2008. The project is onsite and the centre will provide an integrated community resource with GP services, a library, other local authority functions and a cafe.
