Free schools - low cash levels for building

http://www.building.co.uk/news/sectors/education/are-free-schools-too-cheap-by-half?/5059998.article


The days of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, in which up to £35m was spent on individual schools, are long gone. Given these limited resources - the average construction cost for the 23 schools that have reported back is just over £3m - most are not being set up in purpose-built premises.

Chris Bowmer is associate director at Gleeds, which is on the Education Funding Agency’s (EFA) free schools consultants’ framework, and has worked on a range of projects. “Whether you accept this [standard of school] entirely depends upon your aspiration. Times have undoubtedly changed since BSF. But these free schools meet basic standards.”

John Frankiewicz, chief executive of Willmott Dixon Capital Works - compromises are inevitably made when using existing buildings, all the work is done to a good standard. “You might prefer a new build, but this doesn’t mean the standard of work done on the refurbs is any worse.”