Mace wins two West Sussex academy projects
Media
Following the success achieved by the Mace teams at Crawley Library and Bognor Regis Community College, Mace has been selected by West Sussex County Council (WSCC) to act as construction project manager for two academies on the sites of existing secondary schools on the South Coast: Littlehampton Community College and Boundstone Community College in Lancing.
The project is currently at the feasibility stage but the initial funding allocation of £52.5m (for construction and ICT investment) assumes that each scheme will comprise of new build and refurbished/remodelled elements.
The academies are being sponsored by Woodard Schools, a Christian charity currently responsible for 40 educational establishments ranging from independent schools with a national profile such as Lancing College through to a number of voluntary aided inner city schools. West Sussex County Council will also act as co-sponsor to the academies.
Under a new arrangement from the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) and Partnerships for Schools (PfS) an overall project manager is appointed to develop the vision for the academies, establish the academy trust that will manage the delivery including the legal and consultation processes that can ensure the closure of the existing school. Local authorities, irrespective of any interest as an academy sponsor, then carry the risk for project delivery and are responsible for the appointment of the construction project manager, in this case Mace.
The first phase of the commission is to manage the design team feasibility study, determine whether it's possible to design a building that meets the sponsor’s requirements, is affordable and that the risk can be managed. This forms the basis for the outline business case (OBC), and approval of the OBC will allow the local authority to procure a contractor from the PfS academies framework to develop the design and build the new facilities.
Mace’s appointment is initially up to OBC, but could be extended to cover project management throughout all subsequent stages.
