The model uses standardised building components to deliver bespoke schools, delivering them in 18 months. Laing O’Rourke says that using the concept a 1,300-place school can be delivered for £14.3m, which is equivalent to a capital spend of around £11,000 per pupil.
The new product is designed to meet the demands of the Sebastian James Review into school building which called for a radical reduction in cost and standardised design for school building.
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Willmott Dixon, Wates and Galliford Try are among other contractors to have developed standardised school solutions in response to the James Review.
The Laing model uses standardised building components manufactured and assembled at Laing O’Rourke’s offsite manufacturing facility in Steetley, Nottinghamshire.
The design and planning phase of projects, which makes use of Building Information Modelling, is timetabled for delivery in 25 weeks, compared with about 30-40 weeks for a Building for Schools for the Future school. The construction phase for the schools is 52 weeks, compared with 70-80 weeks using traditional building methods.
Laing and Atkins also said their schools model lowers the “life cycle” costs of a school through energy efficient designs and “durable specifications”, Construction News reported.
Speaking after the model was launched, Laing O’Rourke’s head of education Stephen Hockaday told Construction News that the government should hold on to experienced procurement staff as it hands over management of school building from Partnership for Schools (PfS) to the Education Funding Body.
His comments come after former PfS chief executive Tim Byles warned of the “very real risk” of a damaging exodus of skilled procurement staff. “There are some good people from PfS who will understand [school procurement] and have been through the learning curve, and hopefully they will use some of those people – that is one of the key factors,” Hockaday said.
Councils have until 15 October to apply for the government’s £2bn Priority School Building programme, due to start in April.
