Kent CC has given the go ahead to an ambitious £1.8bn programme to rebuild and refurbish its secondary schools, in one of the biggest contracts of its kind in Europe. The signing of an initial £600m contract between the council, Building Schools for the Future Investments (BSFI) and Land Securities Trillium (LST)/Northgate Education (NE), will mean construction can start to rebuild or refurbish the first 10 secondary schools. Kent's building schools for the future programme will eventually cover all 35 of its secondary schools, and provide a major boost to the county's construction industry. Up to 400 apprenticeships will be available for school-leavers – a key objective of council leader, Paul Carter. The council, advised by Nabarro LLP, will form a local education partnership to manage delivery of the programme and lead on the development of proposals for the further 25 secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units in the Gravesham, Thanet and Swale districts. Cabinet member for education operations, resources and skills, Mark Dance said: ‘This contract marks a historic day for education in Kent. State-of-the-art technology, fantastic learning and teaching environments, and unrivalled community facilities will have a huge impact.' Ian Ellis, chief executive at Land Securities Trillium, said: ‘The Kent BSF project is a transformational partnership which will benefit generations of students by creating fully-inclusive, learning spaces with ground-breaking technology infrastructure. The wider local community will also benefit from increased employment opportunities, apprenticeships and work placements.'
