(NB: Potential suppliers only, please email BAM at info@bamppp.com attention Mark Moore) 

For further artist impressions of the schools please see Picture Gallery article below.

Partner announced for £600 million schools programme

The partner chosen to rebuild or remodel all secondary and special schools in Somerset has been announced as BAM.

Somerset County Council has selected BAM, part of a worldwide construction services company, to undertake its £600 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

The first phase will be the £100 million rebuilding of Bridgwater's four secondary and two special schools, with construction work expected to begin this summer.

"We are delighted to have a partner of such calibre to create first class, state of the art schools for Bridgwater and help take the Somerset BSF programme forward in the future," said Julia Ridge, Somerset BSF Programme Director.

BAM, part of the Royal BAM Group, gained the highest scores in extensive evaluation by a team of over 50 people ranging from school heads to a variety of experts.

"Across the whole BAM organisation we are thoroughly delighted at having been appointed by Somerset County Council as its partner for such an exciting and wide reaching programme of work. We look forward to working with the Council, schools, communities and other stakeholders in Bridgwater, and thereafter across Somerset, to make the Somerset BSF Programme a huge success for all concerned," said Robert Young, Director, BAM PPP.

In Bridgwater, BAM and a consortium of over 30 firms will:-
- design and build the new schools
- install their IT systems
- operate and maintain them
- provide finance and investment for them

Its consortium includes RM Education, a market leading ICT provider with extensive experience in schools nationally.

The first schools to be built in Bridgwater will be Chilton Trinity Technology College, and Robert Blake Science College alongside Elmwood School.

BAM will also now undertake consultation and planning work to design East Bridgwater Community School, and Haygrove School alongside Penrose School.

Cllr John Osman, Somerset County Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: "This is an exciting first stage in Somerset's BSF programme and we look forward to working closely with BAM."

Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnerships for Schools, the organisation responsible for delivering the full suite of national schools capital programmes including Building Schools for the Future, said: "I am pleased that Somerset has chosen its selected bidder to deliver its BSF project.   Somerset's scheme will improve the life chances of not only school pupils but local communities as a whole by being a catalyst for regeneration and renewal and I look forward to following its progress."

Caption: Top - artist's impression showing the front entrance of Robert Blake Science College alongside Elmwood School; below - Chilton Trinity Technology College with its striking central feature designed as the heart of the school.

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Background information

BAM is a national provider of construction and property related services and already provides over 34,000 pupil places within 37 separate PPP schools in Bristol, Solihull, Bromsgrove and elsewhere in the country.

BAM is well known in the South West and its projects include a new arts building for the University of Plymouth, future building of the £24m Surgical Centre Ward Building at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, and current construction of the new Museum of Bristol as well as the £13m refurbishment of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum for Exeter City Council. Other notable projects in the South West include Broadoak School in Weston-super-Mare, Avon & Somerset Police Constabulary HQ in Portishead and the forthcoming Montgomery School in Exeter which will be the first "zero carbon" primary school in the UK.

In Somerset BAM previously constructed the Junior Rates Galley and Mess at the Royal Marines Norton Manor Camp in Taunton, as well as projects at the Royal Naval Air Station at Yeovilton.

The BAM team for the Somerset BSF programme consists of the following key contracting organisations:

BAM PPP as consortium lead, financier and investor  
BAM Construction as design and build contractor   
BAM Facilities Management as operation and maintenance contractor  
RM Education as ICT managed service provider

2. The work involved in the Somerset BSF project

From its South West regional office BAM, and its team of over 30 firms, has worked with the BSF Team, the Bridgwater schools, pupils and other key stakeholders to develop:

- Creative and sustainable designs for the schools
- Locally resourced services to operate and maintain the new school facilities for the next 25 years
- Innovative ICT service proposals to offer personalised learning, with a high proportion and variety of innovative information technology devices and on-site support

3. The LEP

BAM will also be Somerset County Council's (SCC) private sector partner for the Local Education Partnership, the company which will be established specifically for the delivery of the BSF Programme and the transformation of education across Somerset.

The LEP's dedicated management team will work with SCC over the next 10 years to ensure that their vision for education transformation leverages wider regeneration and socio-economic opportunities. It aims to:

- help raise standards in education and life-long learning
- support the school staff and pupils in making the most of the new school facilities and resources
- undertake wide ranging activities for students to be involved in the building and running of their school, providing informal curriculum and personal development opportunities
- deliver value for money and continuous improvement that translates into reduced costs to develop, construct and operate future schools in Somerset,
- actively promote and support participation in community use and leisure activities through programmes for sport, arts and culture, and family and adult learning within the new school facilities,
- work with BAM's local supply chain to offer a tailored programme of mentoring activities, work placements, and training opportunities for pupils, staff and the local community, to support the regeneration of the local economy.

4. General notes about BAM

BAM PPP invests in and manages PPP (Public Private Partnership) projects on behalf of Royal BAM Group its Dutch parent company. Currently BAM PPP has 32 PPP projects in its portfolio. BAM PPP is active in the UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Germany in the education, health, law & order, road and rail PPP sectors. 

BAM Construction and BAM Facilities Management are business units of BAM Construct UK Ltd.  BAM Construct UK Ltd is one of the UK's leading construction services organisations, with a turnover exceeding £1 billion.  It operates throughout the UK from regional centres in, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh.  BAM PPP and BAM Construct UK Ltd are wholly owned subsidiaries of Royal BAM Group, a worldwide construction services company turning over more than €8 billion that is listed on Euronext Amsterdam.