The Stockton office of international project management and cost consultants, Faithful+Gould has further boosted its £150 million portfolio of high profile education schemes after being appointed to a flagship project in Northumberland’s largest town, Blyth.

Following an OJEU procedure, Faithful+Gould has been appointed to the Emmanuel School’s Foundation Consultants Framework for the £31 million Bede Academy in Blyth and will provide construction and life cycle cost advice on the project.

The scheme will see a new all-age academy catering for pupils aged between four and 18 being uniquely developed over three sites:

• Former Ridley High School site will be the location of the £23.5 million school for pupils aged between 11 and 18. It will boast 1,150 places and is due to open in September 2009 specialising in Engineering and Enterprise.

• Due to the restricted size of the site an element of the sports provision for the academy will be based on the site and the remainder located on Delaval Road when the current Delaval School closes in 2010.

• A £7.6 million primary school housing students aged between four and 11 will be built on the site of the existing South Beach First School. It will provide 630 places and will also open in September 2009.

Possessing significant experience of delivering high profile academy schemes such as the £22 million Kings Academy in Middlesbrough and the £26 million Trinity Academy in Doncaster and currently working on the £38 million Excelsior Academy in Newcastle, Gary Marshall, associate director of Faithful+Gould, said:

“We are delighted to maintain our relationship with the Emmanuel School’s Foundation and to have been appointed to such a high profile project. This is exactly the kind of project which is attracting quality staff to Faithful+Gould as evidenced by recent appointments to the property teams in Stockton on Tees and Newcastle. This scheme, together with the several other high profile and iconic projects we are in the process of delivering, will raise our property profile within the region. We very much look forward to co-ordinating and managing this project, which will be a significant challenge to our team due to construction being undertaken on three separate sites.

“During the lifetime of the project, we will agree the final budget for the scheme in conjunction with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and ensure the design provides best value within the funds available. Cash flow forecasts will additionally be produced to benchmark the progress of the works and manage the drawdown of funding from the DCSF.

“Our team will procure the works through the Emmanuel School’s Foundation and will appoint a constructor who will partner with the design team to conclude design during the two-stage tender process.

“Post contractual duties will involve our team continuing to manage and report the project finances, agreeing monthly valuations, valuing changes and continually conducting value engineering to ensure the delivery of the project within the budget.”

The project will see Faithful+Gould further building upon its longstanding relationship with Durham based Howarth Litchfield Partnership which is providing project professional team leadership, architectural services and a Construction Design Management (CDM) co-ordination role on the scheme. In addition, Cundall is providing civil, structural and mechanical and electrical engineering services.

David Vardy, project director from the Emmanuel School’s Foundation, said:

“Faithful+Gould’s outstanding experience in the field of delivering high profile education schemes on time and to budget as well as its resource availability was impressive and we look forward to working with its team throughout the project.

“Bede Academy is a major step in Blyth’s regeneration efforts and it will also contribute to driving up students’ educational standards. I am very much looking forward to seeing start on site in the first quarter of 2008.”

Email: alice.andreasen@clothierlacey.co.uk