Education Property Issue 06 December 2024-January 2025

12/2024

DECEMBER 2024-JANUARY 2025

Budget special report: Find out what

Labour’s first Budget means for the sector

How evolving needs are leading to a rethink

of student accommodation design

Review: The highlights from the

2024 Education Summit

EDUCATION-PROPERTY.COM

Comment

W E L C O M E

A budget of two halves

On 30 October, the new

Chancellor, Rachel Reeves,

presented the Labour

Government’s first Budget since

the party came to power.

And it has wide-reaching

implications for the

education sector.

In early years, she announced an

additional £1.8bn to continue the

expansion of government-funded

childcare, along with £30m for the

rollout of free breakfast clubs in

thousands of primary schools.

In the schools and SEND

sector, she increasing funding

for the core schools’ budget

by £2.3bn, with £1bn going

towards SEND services.

And she pledged an additional £300m for further

education to ensure young people are developing the

skills they need to succeed.

But there was also a downside, as the promised VAT on

private school fees was rubber stamped, along with rises

in Capital Gains Tax (CGT), National Insurance, and

the National Living Wage, which will all have an impact

on the sector moving forward.

Also included in the Budget was an increase in capital

spending to improve the estate, including £1.4bn for the

School Rebuilding Programme, an increase of £550m on

this year; and £2bn into maintenance for schools.

But this has been described as a ‘drop in the ocean’ as

the sector grapples with pressing issues such as RAAC

and an estimated 24,000 school buildings which are

beyond their estimated design life.

In this edition of Education

Property you can read about the

impact of all these announcements

in our Election Special Report

(p12), where we speak to

experts about the likely impact

of the changes.

Elsewhere, in the Design and

Build section (p??) we look at

how trends and expectations have

impacted on the design of student

accommodation; and there is a

case study on the delivery of a

major project at Peter Symonds

Sixth Form College in Hampshire.

And Environment features

include work on Wales’s mostcomprehensive

net-zero carbon

school refurbishment project; and

the latest energy-efficient approaches to design.

You can also read about the recent Education Summit,

held in London in October, where key issues facing the

education estate were discussed.

Coming up in the first edition of 2025, Education

Property will be looking at storage solutions, exploring

the growing trend for refurbishment over new-build

facilities, and will be focusing on multi-academy trusts,

including financial implications and property decision

making processes.

Email me, joanne.makosinski@nexusgroup.co.uk,

if you can help.

Jo Makosinski

Editor

Education Property

About Jo: Jo is the editor of Education Property, having

joined Nexus Media in November 2023.

She has been specialising in design and construction

best practice for the past 16 years, working on the

Building Better Healthcare Awards and editing both

Building Better Healthcare and Healthcare Design &

Management magazines.

She has a special interest in the design of public

buildings, including schools, nurseries, colleges, hospitals,

health centres, and libraries.

EDUCATION-PROPERTY.COM DECEMBER 2024-JANUARY 2025 | 3

Contents

Chief executive officer

Alex Dampier

Chief operating officer

Sarah Hyman

Chief marketing officer

Julia Payne

Editor

Joanne Makosinski

joanne.makosinski@nexusgroup.co.uk

6-11 News

We round up the latest big stories,

including new school projects, a

landmark £700m estates overhaul

at the University of Warwick,

and a new report on why UK

universities are the top choice for

parents worldwide

Reporter and subeditor

Charles Wheeldon

Advertising & event sales director

Caroline Bowern

Business development executive

Kirsty Parks

Publisher

Harry Hyman

30

30-37 Design and Build

Architects discuss how evolving

needs are leading to a rethink of

student accommodation design

and we explore how a major sixth

form development was delivered

on time and under budget

12

12-18 Policy

In our special report we speak

to industry experts to gauge

their reaction to the implications

of Labour’s first Budget for the

education sector

38

38-40 Review

The take-home points from the

2024 Education Summit

Investor Publishing Ltd, 3rd Floor,

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London, SW1Y 6RE

Tel: 020 7104 2000

Website: www.education-property.com

Education Property is published six times a year

by Investor Publishing Ltd.

ISSN 3033-3458

© Investor Publishing Limited 2024

The views expressed in Healthcare Property

are not necessarily those of the editor or publishers.

@edu_prop

linkedin.com/company/education-property-magazine/

24

20-29 Finance and Property

The University of Warwick appoints

a property adviser, opportunities

and challenges are unveiled

at a newly-launched LocatED

event, and we reveal all the

latest property deals

42

42-49 Environmental

How a net-zero design approach

can create uplifting learning

spaces, pupils take action through

the Zero Carbon Schools initiative,

and a Welsh school makes history

with redevelopment

50 People

Movers and shakers in the

education property sector


News

Unprecedented investment

in university estate

The University of Warwick has unveiled a £700m

investment in its West Midlands campus as part of its

ambitious Connect Programme.

The cash marks the largest single investment in campus

facilities across the university’s 60-year history.

And the unprecedented boost will focus on the Social

Sciences and STEM subjects (science, technology,

engineering and mathematics) and will facilitate an

expansion in interdisciplinary education and research

opportunities and new courses in both areas.

It will also support expansion of the university’s

purposeful collaboration and partnerships regionally,

nationally, and internationally.

INNOVATIVE SPACES

Plans were recently revealed for phase one of the

investment, which will see innovative spaces built for new

state-of-the-art research and education programmes.

From teaching rooms to laboratories, the facilities

will enable the university to build on its innovation and

research excellence and enhance the campus experience

to create more learning opportunities for undergraduate

and postgraduate students.

Professor Stuart Croft, vice-chancellor and president of

The University of Warwick, said: “The Connect Programme

demonstrates how we are fostering curiosity and creativity

and creating a lasting impact for years to come.

“As we enter the first phase of the programme, The

University of Warwick is leading the way in advancing

STEM education and research to inspire the next

generation of innovators.

A BETTER WORLD

“2025 marks 60 years of The University of Warwick and

this investment reaffirms our commitment to making a

better world together through our research, education,

and innovation.

“We are looking forward to further announcements

about our Social Sciences Connect Programme

later this year.”

Professor Mark Williams, academic director for the STEM

Connect Programme, added: “Through the STEM Connect

Programme, we will firmly maintain The University of

Warwick’s position as a global powerhouse for STEM,

that will pave the way for groundbreaking research

and education.

“The programme will also provide access to stateof-the-art

facilities that will deliver both innovation and

societal impact.

“We will be creating an environment that will

combine excellence with an interdisciplinary culture to

create partnerships that will help address the world’s

pressing challenges.

“This is a hugely-ambitious project and I am looking

forward to working with our colleagues, students,

business partners, and the wider community to

deliver our vision.”

ATTRACT AND INSPIRE

For nearly 60 years, the university has led on a vast array of pioneering research,

including innovations to save lives through the early detection of skin cancer

and dementia, to raising the profile of social isolation and loneliness as a human

rights issue.

And the Connect Programme will help to strengthen the economy by creating

more than 1,500 construction-related jobs over the lifetime of the project, while

also working with business, communities, and local authorities across the West

Midlands and nationally to enhance the UK’s knowledge base, skillset, and

innovation pedigree.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Investing in STEM is essential

for driving innovation that boosts our economy and creates quality jobs for people

across the region.

“Universities like Warwick that invest heavily in research and development and

STEM activities are key to achieving this, and their investment will help ensure

the West Midlands stays at the forefront of the UK’s innovation and skills-based

economy, benefiting both our communities and businesses.”

6 | DECEMBER 2024-JANUARY 2025 EDUCATION-PROPERTY.COM

News

UK universities retain

top global position

UK universities are a top choice for 18% of parents

worldwide, HSBC research reveals

New research from HSBC reveals that

18% of parents around the world are

considering the UK as a top choice

when planning for their child’s overseas

education, second only to the US (31%).

The data comes at a time when Scottish

universities are seeing a record number

of international students enrolling, which

shows a rising interest in locations outside of

London and England.

And this is expected to drive interest

in expanding and upgrading university

infrastructure as well as increasing

development of purpose-built student

accommodation (PBSA).

The Quality of Life report surveyed more

than 11,200 affluent respondents in 11 markets

around the world and was commissioned to

explore the anticipated, or actual, expenses

of an overseas education, and to identify the

main challenges encountered during the

planning and pre-departure stages.

A GROWING MARKET

The number of international students

studying overseas is set to grow at an

average annual rate of 4.2% by 2030 and

UK universities alone are expected to see a

46% uptick in international undergraduate

applications by 2026.

HSBC’s data shows that students from

Hong Kong, the US, and the UAE make up

the majority of the UK’s international student

applicant pool, with parents from these

markets citing the UK as their preferred

destination for their child’s international study.

Commenting on the research findings, Sabine

Fichaux, head of international at HSBC UK,

said: “It’s clear that parents worldwide view

the UK as a top destination for their children’s

higher education — and for good reason.

“Parents are seeking out destinations

and universities renowned for academic

excellence, as well as opportunities for global

exposure, as they look to set their children for

success in a job market which is becoming

more globalised.

CHAMPIONING ASPIRATIONS

“We understand the power of a global

network, because we have one. That’s

why we’re committed to championing the

international education aspirations of families

around the world by providing them with

practical and emotional guidance, the right

financial products such as pre-departure bank

account opening and StudySurance, and our

national network of accommodation partners.

“Whether their sights are set on a UK

education, or they’re UK based and looking

to expand their horizons abroad, we have the

support needed to help international students

and their parents to navigate an overseas

education with clarity and confidence.”

Equally, an international education is an

aspiration shared by British parents, with

35% saying they either have a child studying

abroad currently or are hoping to send their

child overseas for university in the future.

When it comes to ‘where’ UK parents are

sending their children overseas for study,

the US (31%), EU (28%), and Canada (13%)

emerge as the top destinations.

PAYMENT PLANS

HSBC’s study reveals the majority (85%) of UK

parents surveyed intend to fund their child’s

overseas education, despite only 42% having

compromise on university’s

an education savings plan in place.

A further 90% of parents admit to lacking

confidence in their financial preparedness as

an overseas education for their child can cost

up to £188,000 — depending on where, and for

how long, their child studies abroad — which

could represent up to 39% of parents required

retirement savings.

Just under half (47%) of UK parents say

they would pay for their child’s international

education from general savings; two

in 10 (20%) would take out a loan, and

more than one in 10 (15%) would pay by

selling their assets.

On top of expected costs, such as tuition

and accommodation, there are additional

costs that UK parents are willing to absorb

to provide their children with an overseas

education. This includes paying for health

insurance (33%), paying for flights to visit their

child at regular intervals (46%), giving them a

separate allowance (43%), and providing them

with access to professional financial planning

and investing advice (36%).

MAKING A SELECTION

The majority (71%) of UK parents surveyed

select a university that offers their child the

chance to pursue their passions, and would

prioritise an innovative, future-focused

programme (65%).

Additionally, 57% of UK parents would

pay more for an academic experience that

provides their child with opportunities to

travel - suggesting international opportunities

trumps prestige.

Other top reasons for UK parents

considering an overseas education for

their child include:

Encourage their independence 14%

Provide them with an opportunity for

subject specialisation 12%

Provide them with an opportunity to

develop an international network 11%

Boost their employment prospects

in the destination of study 10%

Build their overseas exposure to improve

their competitiveness in the job market 9%

Strength of their academic performance 9%

A third (33%) of parents surveyed consider an

international education as a way to boost their

child’s academic and career advancement;

27% believe it will enhance their child’s future

opportunities; and a quarter (25%) believe

it will boost their child’s independence and

overseas network.


News • Projects

All-through school takes shape

GRAHAM has been appointed by

Eastern Quarry Limited (EQL), the

entity owned and managed by Henley

Camland, a joint venture between

Henley Investment Management and

Camland Developments, to deliver a

major new education hub in Ebbsfleet

Garden City, Kent.

The £80m Alkerden Academy will offer more

than 2,200 places to primary and secondary

school pupils, making it one of the largest

education facilities ever to be built in Kent.

Occupying an expansive 11.1-hectare site

located in the Whitecliffe Eastern Quarry

Development, the development is set to

become an all-through school featuring an

eight-form entry secondary school up to five

storeys tall, and a two-form entry, two-storey

primary school.

The campus will also include a community

sports hall and sports pitches together

with related car parking and access roads.

Construction is already underway, with a

completion target of July 2026.

To minimise disruption, the project will be

carried out in a single phase with the design

aligning with the latest sustainability standards

and aiming for a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating

and adopting BIM Level 2.

Ian Rickwood, chief executive of Henley

Investment Management, said: “The new

Alkerden Academy, a major education hub

and community sports facility, is at the heart of

our plans for this development.

“We are on site and delivering this allthrough

school, putting in place vital

infrastructure and amenities to support local

residents and new communities that will make

Whitecliffe their home.”

Pat O’Hare, regional director at GRAHAM,

added: “Alkerden Academy is a key

component of the Whitecliffe development,

providing significant educational and

£10m university revamp completed

Tilbury Douglas has completed

construction of the £10m

refurbishment of the Grade IIlisted

Caedmon Hall at Leeds

Beckett University.

The hall, originally built in the

early 20th Century, has been

sensitively restored and upgraded

to accommodate the relocation of

the Carnegie School of Education.

The transformation marks

an exciting chapter for Leeds

Beckett and the Carnegie School

of Education, with the project

focused on preserving the

building’s architectural heritage

while creating a state-of-theart

environment for teaching,

research, and collaboration.

The project included extensive

repairs to the building’s external

envelope, including roofslates,

flashing, and timber elements,

alongside masonry and

brickwork restoration.

Internally, specialist spaces

were created, including a science

laboratory, while all mechanical

and electrical systems were

replaced with sustainable,

modern solutions like air

source heat pumps.

The project has targeted a

SKA Gold rating, reflecting its

commitment to environmentallyresponsible

design.

Social value was also at the

heart of the refurbishment, with

Tilbury Douglas delivering 16

school and college workshops, 10

work experience placements, 370

apprentice weeks, and creating

four new jobs.

Additionally, £10,000 was

contributed to community groups

via the YOR4Good Fund.

Paul Ellenor, regional director

for Yorkshire and the North

East at Tilbury Douglas, said:

“This project represents our

commitment to restoring and

modernising historic buildings

while ensuring they meet

today’s standards of energy

efficiency and comfort.”

Phil Shaw, managing director

of Building North at Tilbury

Douglas, added: “With decades

of experience in the higher

education sector, we understand

the importance of delivering

spaces that not only respect their

historical significance, but also

enhance learning environments.

“Our team’s expertise in heritage

restoration and sustainable

construction has ensured that

Caedmon Hall is ready to serve

Leeds Beckett University for

many years to come.”

And Andy Allison, acting

recreational benefits to the Ebbsfleet

Valley community.

“Our team is dedicated to delivering a

facility that not only meets the highest

standards of sustainability, but also provides

an enriching environment for students and

the community.

“This project demonstrates our capability

to manage complex developments and we

look forward to working closely with Eastern

Quarry Limited and the consultancy team to

bring this vision to fruition.”

The school is part of the wider Alkerden

Village development, which will have

approximately 1,700 homes and a market

centre, featuring a supermarket and gym.

director of estates and facilities

at Leeds Beckett University, said:

“The refurbishment of Caedmon

Hall has provided the Carnegie

School of Education with a

modern, sustainable space that

enhances the student experience

while preserving the building’s

rich heritage.

“We worked closely with

Tilbury Douglas to ensure the

design fosters collaboration

and innovation, supporting

both teaching and research

in an inclusive and energyefficient

environment.

“This project reflects our

commitment to delivering

exceptional facilities that inspire

our students and staff, now, and

in the future.”


Projects • News

McAvoy completes secondary school

Construction of the new Orsett

Heath Academy in Essex, which was

commissioned by the Secretary of State

for Education, has been completed by

offsite manufacturer, McAvoy.

The 8,610sq m, three-storey design and

build project, which is McAvoy’s largest to

date, comprises 209 modules encompassing

collaborative breakout areas, a double-height

dining area, and a performing arts hub.

McAvoy was also responsible for the

extensive hard and soft landscaping, including

car and bicycle parking provision, the creation

of a new cycle path, new sports playing

fields, and the installation of a Multi-Use

Games Area (MUGA).

SWIFT DELIVERY

The school was procured through the

Department for Education’s (DfE) Mod

C framework and was completed over

the course of 15 months, one week

ahead of schedule.

McAvoy was instrumental in the swift

delivery of the new 1,200 pupil capacity school

for ages 11-16 through close stakeholder

collaboration at every stage.

First working with the school and local

planning authority, McAvoy then engaged

with archaeological specialists to provide

advice and excavation of the brownfield site.

Manufacturing and groundworks took place

concurrently, and installation of the modules

was completed during the winter of 2023.

The offsite manufacturing process was

not only efficient, but served to avoid delays

from weather disruption by having 70% of

works, including screed floors, completed at

McAvoy’s manufacturing facility.

McAvoy also procured and liaised with

utilities providers to manage the installation

of the new power substation and water

infrastructure for the school.

FLEXIBILITY

To provide flexible delivery, McAvoy hired

a local airfield close to the site, which

alleviated road delivery restrictions and

limited disruption.

Undertaking Considerate Constructors

Scheme practices throughout, McAvoy

engaged with the local community through

regular updates, foodbank donations,

local employment, as well as student site

visits. McAvoy also installed a four-phase

clock on a new plinth to commemorate the

school opening.

Gavin Ward, contracts manager at McAvoy,

said: “The new Orsett Heath Academy

is an exemplary educational institution,

demonstrating the strong capabilities and

benefits that offsite manufacturing can provide

at the scale required to help the education

sector quickly meet growing demand for fitfor-purpose

education facilities.

“As our biggest project to date, this scheme

also represents the growth and skill of our

experienced team to deliver excellent education

facilities on complex brownfield sites.

“Throughout the process, McAvoy has

managed and delivered solutions to enable

the quick and efficient turnaround of the

school to all necessary standards and building

regulation requirements.

A UNIQUE VISION

“We are thrilled with the final result and

positive feedback received from teachers,

students, and the local community, who

are all now benefitting from the great

internal facilities and carefully considered

external landscaping.”

Steve Munday, chief executive at South West

Essex Community Education Trust, added:

“We are thrilled to see the completion of this

exciting new facility for Orsett Heath Academy,

made possible by McAvoy’s unique approach.

“The attention to detail, from state-ofthe-art

learning spaces to the expansive

sports facilities, reflects our vision to create

a nurturing and dynamic environment

for our students.

“We are excited to see the positive impact

this new school will have on our community

and we look forward to watching our

students thrive in this exceptional space for

years to come.”

And Amy Tait, project director at the

Department for Education, said: “Orsett Heath

Academy is a fantastic facility and offers

excellent learning spaces to support the South

West Essex Community Education Trust in

continuing to offer high-quality education to

their students.

“McAvoy has worked closely with the

trust and the local authority to deliver this

impressive educational facility which includes

high-quality outdoor sports pitches to support

the school in providing excellent education

and opportunities to students.”


News • Projects

Landmark shared education

campus takes shape

Northern Ireland Education

Minister, Paul Givan, has

marked the beginning of

the construction phase of

the £375m Strule Shared

Education Campus at a

celebratory event in Omagh.

The event was attended by

local schools as well as wider

education, community, and

political representatives.

Addressing the event the

minister said: “Today, is a

very special milestone in the

life of Omagh.

“Strule is a vision for the future

of education in Northern Ireland

— a vision for a truly-high-quality

education system for all our

young people and today is an

opportunity to celebrate all that

has been and all that is to come.

“It also marks a touchstone

moment in the development

of Shared Education for

Northern Ireland.

“We all have a collective

responsibility to ensure that

shared education can achieve its

aims and bring our communities

closer together.

“The shared campus here at

Omagh will provide a sustainable,

long-term model of sharing and

collaboration that will prepare our

children for the challenges and

opportunities of life, work and

citizenship in the 21st Century.”

In August the Department of

Education in Northern Ireland

awarded the construction

contract for the campus

to Woodvale Lowry Joint

Venture Limited.

Once completed, it will be the

largest education construction

project ever delivered in Northern

Ireland and will bring over £1bn of

investment to the local economy

and create many new jobs across

the local area.

The state-of-the-art shared

centre of learning will bring

together six schools from across

the community and incorporate

grammar, secondary, and special

school provision.

Over 4,000 children and young

people from all backgrounds will

come together on a vibrant and

dynamic campus and the schools

will work together to provide a

shared curriculum and a wide

range of extra-curricular activities.

The schools involved are

Arvalee School and Resource

Centre, Christian Brothers

Grammar School, Loreto

Grammar School, Omagh

Academy Grammar School,

Omagh High School, and

Sacred Heart College.

Arvalee Special School has

already been constructed on

the Strule site.

The Strule Main Works Contract

includes five school buildings,

a shared sports centre, shared

education centre, a sports

pavilion and associated synthetic

pitches, and infrastructure and

site development works.

Expansion completed ahead of time

Pupils and staff at Woodburn

Primary School in Dalkeith are

enjoying new state-of-the-art

educational facilities after

main contractor, Kier, and

Midlothian Council completed

an £11.4m extension and

refurbishment project early.

Opened six weeks ahead

of schedule, the 2,262sq m

extension and refurbishment

increases pupil capacity

from a three-stream to a

four-stream entry.

The new facility will also be

available for community use.

The school has been extended

on two storeys to include

nine new classrooms and an

additional gym hall, while the

dining hall and kitchen have

been upgraded and extended to

accommodate the expansion.

Outdoor improvements feature

new play areas and a sensory

and activity garden using locallysourced

materials, shrubs, and

wildflower seeds.

And log seating has been

crafted from trees removed during

construction, saving 10 tonnes

of wood waste from the site for

reuse or recycling.

Officially opening the new

extension, Midlothian Council

leader, Councillor Kelly Parry,

said: “It’s great to see the pupils

and staff so excited about

the new extension. And who

could blame them?

“What a wonderful learning

environment to help give our

children the best start in life while

providing excellent facilities for

our wider community.”

Headteacher, Joanna Findlay,

added: “Having watched the hard

work and dedication of the team

building our fantastic extension

from the ground up, it’s wonderful

to see it finished and being

enjoyed by our staff and children.

“We are in the process

of planning opportunities

for our families and wider

community to come and visit

our new learning spaces, both

indoors and out.

“Going forward, we are excited

to build on these successes

through utilising our new learning

environment in creative and

innovative ways.”

And Phil McDowell, regional

director for Kier North & Scotland,

said: “We are thrilled to see pupils

and staff at Woodburn Primary

School enjoying their fantastic

new facilities.

“Our expertise in design through

to completion has enabled us to

deliver an outstanding school

on behalf of Midlothian Council

while being sensitive to, and

creative with, the environment

around the site.”


Projects • News

Key milestone for

university regeneration

Traditional topping-out ceremony

held at University of Bristol’s

Temple Quarter development

The University of Bristol’s Temple

Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC),

part of one of Europe’s most-ambitious

regeneration projects, celebrated a major

milestone recently with a traditional

topping-out ceremony.

Contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine, hosted the

event to mark the completion of the structural

framework for the university’s cutting-edge

academic building, a centrepiece of the largest

urban regeneration in the city’s history.

More than 300 guests were led to the top

floor of the building by a piper at the start

of the ceremony.

After a symbolic pouring of a final section

of concrete to signify the project’s steady

progress, and the traditional exchange of

tankards in recognition of ‘work well done’,

an evergreen bough was nailed to the

structure as an auspicious symbol of longevity

and good fortune.

INNOVATION HUB

Once completed, the new six-storey, 38,350sq

m academic building — the first phase of the

TQEC development — will become home to

4,600 students and 650 university staff.

The facility will serve as a hub for innovation

and entrepreneurship, strengthening

connections between the university,

businesses, and the community, while

driving socio-economic growth in Bristol and

the wider region.

Architects from Feilden Clegg Bradley

Studios (FCBStudios), who designed the

building; structural and services engineers

from Buro Happold; and representatives from

project management and cost consultant,

AECOM, also attended the event.

The teams worked closely with Sir Robert

McAlpine throughout the pre-construction

Services Agreement period, providing

invaluable support in preconstruction activities

and procurement, and have since supported

University of Bristol and Sir Robert McAlpine

in the construction delivery phase.

A particular point of pride for the team has

been the development of innovative, lowcarbon

concrete mix designs in collaboration

with Buro Happold and supply chain

partner, Toureen.

These materials have reduced the carbon

impact of the project, delivering a CO2

saving of 2,500 tonnes — far exceeding the

industry average.

A LANDMARK DEVELOPMENT

Professor Evelyn Welch MBE, vice-chancellor

and president of the University of Bristol,

said: “After many years in the planning the

biggest innovation footprint ever made in our

city is a third of the way there.

“It’s great to see how much progress has

been made over the last 18 months on site,

with the new building really taking shape

before our eyes.

“The Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus will

be a major new landmark for Bristol and a real

catalyst for innovation, not just for the city and

region, but also nationally.

“It is being carefully constructed to meet

the needs and nurture the aspirations of our

students, staff, and partners across the city

and the wider region.

“It provides outstanding facilities to build on

our collective strengths in research, innovation,

learning, and societal change.

“By attracting top talent, fostering cuttingedge

multidisciplinary research, nurturing

start-ups and entrepreneurship, and providing

opportunities to work with students and

develop talent pipelines, we will attract more

international partners to Bristol and help

to create a thriving ecosystem that drives

economic growth to really compete on

the global stage.”

Hector McAlpine, executive partner at

Sir Robert McAlpine, added: “Our work

to date has put us in the best-possible

position to deliver this ground-breaking

facility on time, ready to receive the next

generation of students.

“In doing so, Temple Quarter has

transformed, with this project acting as a

catalyst for wider regeneration.

“We are proud to be part of this journey,

delivering a legacy through educational

programmes, community initiatives and

funding, alongside employment opportunities

during construction.”

And Mike Keys, partner at FCBStudios,

said: “This project represents a huge

collaborative effort to deliver an ambitious

vision for the future of our client, the

University of Bristol.

“It is a privilege to see our designs come to

life with craft and dedication from the whole

team and to share in the celebration of this

milestone achievement.”

The project is expected to be completed in

the summer of 2026.


Policy • The Budget

Image, Kirsty O’Connor / Treasury. Inset image, Lauren Hurley / DESNZ

Budget 2024 – Special Report

In this article we look at how the 2024 Budget announcement will impact on all areas of the

education sector, in particular what announcements on capital spending mean for the estate

The Chancellor’s announcement of an

£11.2bn increase in the Department

for Education (DfE) budget has been

welcomed by industry leaders.

However, they warn the extra cash for

early years services, SEND systems, and

further education will largely be negated by

the decision to increase employer National

Insurance contributions and the rise in the

National Living Wage.

In her first Budget as the new Chancellor,

Rachel Reeves announced that spending on

the education system in England will increase

by £11.2bn from 2023/24 levels by 2025/26

— a 3.5% real-terms increase.

Key points of her speech for the education

sector included:

• Increasing funding for the core schools’

budget by £2.3bn, increasing per-pupil

funding in real terms. £1bn of this

funding will go towards supporting

the special educational needs and

disabilities (SEND) system

• An additional £1.8bn to continue the

expansion of government-funded childcare,

providing young children with high-quality

early education. Along with £30m being

provided for the rollout of free breakfast

clubs in thousands of primary schools,

this will also help parents, and particularly

mothers, to stay in, and return to, work

• Providing an additional £300m for

further education to ensure young

people are developing the skills they

need to succeed and taking steps to

transform the Apprenticeship Levy into a

Growth and Skills Levy through a £40m

investment. This will help to deliver on

the commitment to launch shorter and

foundation apprenticeships in key sectors

Key to the education property sector, and

estates managers, was the pledge of £6.7bn

in capital funding in 2025/26 for education

in England, a real terms increase of 19%

from 2024/25. This includes £1.4bn for the

School Rebuilding Programme, an increase of

£550m on this year.

The settlement also invests over £2bn into

maintenance for schools and £950m for

skills capital.

Here, we look at some of the key

announcements in more detail and speak

to industry insiders about the implications

for the sector.


The Budget • Policy

Early years

The Budget included investment of

an extra £1.8bn into the early years in

2025/26, so the Government will be

spending over £8bn in total.

This money will mean the Government

can continue the expanded rollout of

funded childcare hours for parents of

children from nine months old up to three

and four year olds.

There is also £15m to begin delivery of

3,000 school-based nurseries, with schools

able to bid for up to £150,000 to expand

existing nurseries or open new ones.

The money is expected to mean 300

new or expanded nurseries open by

September 2025.

Reacting to the announcement,

David Eaves, director of childcare

and education at Christie &

Co, warned that the expected

rises in Capital Gains Tax

(CGT), National Insurance, and the

National Living Wage will hit childcare

and education businesses throughout

the UK, negating some of the extra cash

announced in the Budget.

And it will inevitably lead to nurseries

having to increase their fees.

“Against the backdrop of the expansion of

funded hours to include children under two

years, the announcement that the minimum

wage for 18-20 year olds will increase by

16%, the Living Wage for those 21 and over

will increase by 6.7%, and apprentice wages

by 18% will immediately offset a significant

proportion of the benefit afforded by the

funded rate being paid by local authorities

for those youngest children,” he said.

“Given the number of young and

apprentice-age staff employed in day

nurseries, these wage rate increases will

potentially have a significant impact if these

cost increases cannot be passed on through

fee increases.

“As with any increase to the National

Living Wage, it is not only those lowestpaid

members of staff that have to be

considered, but also the knock-on effect

this has on wage increases for nursery

practitioners, room leaders, deputies, and

managers to maintain a pay differential

reflective of their role and responsibilities.

“In what is becoming a common theme,

settings only offering care and education

for pre-school-age children will likely be

hardest hit as they are unable to benefit

from the increased funding provided to

younger children.”

Also announced were further changes

to employers’ costs through the increase

In what is becoming a common theme, settings

only offering care and education for preschool-age

children will likely be hardest hit as

they are unable to benefit from the increased

funding provided to younger children

of employers’ National Insurance (NI)

contributions by 1.2% to 15%, while also

lowering the threshold at which employers

pay NI from £9,100 to £5,000.

Eaves said: “This, coupled with the

announced Living Wage changes, represents

potentially-significant increases in

staffing costs.

“Some relief was offered to the smallest of

settings, however, through the increase in

the employers’ allowance to £10,500.”

He predicts this ‘game of two halves’

will result in nurseries coming up for

sale, adding: “While we saw a surge in

transactional activity pre-budget, with

operators looking to exit before any

announcements that may affect the value

of their business, many childcare providers

who had been considering delaying exit

plans while realising the benefit of the full

funding rollout may now look to bring

forward their plans due to increasing

employment costs and tax reforms

eradicating much of the benefit they would

have been expecting to see over the next

12-18 months.

“Given the headline rate of CGT is to be

increased from 20% to 24% with immediate

effect, the next milestone in terms of

changes will occur in April 2025 when the

Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR)

rate increases from 10% to 14% for the first

Image, Tolmacho from Pixabay

£1m of taxable gain, and providers that had

been contemplating an exit will clearly have

an eye toward this date in order to minimise

their tax burden as far as possible.”

And Tom Wallace, deputy head

of HR services at UK and Ireland

law firm, Browne Jacobson, told

Education Property ongoing

staffing issues will likely put

increased pressure on early years providers:

“While schools will welcome the benefits

that tripling the free breakfast club rollout

will have on parents, this will likely lead to

staff resourcing issues at a time when they

are already grappling with a recruitment

and retention crisis across all roles.”

“Coupled with the headache caused

by a rise in employer National Insurance

contributions, we may approach a

situation in which staff are being asked to

work beyond their usual hours on more

occasions while at the same time finding

their opportunities for pay progression

are limited due to the tighter financial

constraints engulfing schools.

“Embracing out-of-the-box thinking

could help bring small changes that reap big

rewards in making the teaching profession

more attractive, helping it to compete

better against other vocations that may be

able to offer higher salaries, better benefits,

and greater flexibility.”



Schools and SEND schools

Funding for schools will rise by £2.3bn

next year, Reeves has announced.

£1bn of that funding is for high needs,

recognising the immense need in the

sector, with the Government continuing

to develop plans to transform England’s

Special Education Needs and Disabilities

(SEND) system and improve outcomes

for young people.

This remaining increase to the schools

budget will continue to fully fund this

summer’s 5.5% pay award for teachers and

help cover promised pay awards in 2025/26.

But, despite the investment, there will

still be difficult decisions to take on how

money is spent right across the public

sector, according to sector specialists.

Jon Andrews, head of

analysis and director for school

system and performance at the

Education Policy Institute (EPI),

said: “The announcement of

a further £2.3bn for the schools’ budget

represents a real terms increase of 1.8% and

of this £1bn has been earmarked for the

high needs budget.

“The Government is right to prioritise

funding for special educational needs, but

£1bn represents a quarter of the deficits that

the National Audit Office estimates that

local authorities have accumulated.

“Given the perilous state of local

authority budgets, clarity on how that

funding will be allocated, or what it is

intended for, is now urgently required.

“If the situation for local authorities

has not been fundamentally changed,

then we still risk services for our most

vulnerable being cut.”

Courteney Donaldson,

managing director of childcare

and education at Christie & Co,

agreed, stating: “While a 6%

increase, of £1bn, in funding for

SEND education will be a welcome easing

of pressure, it does not address the deficits

of more than £4bn that have built up in

local authorities.

“More detail is needed around this

funding commitment in order to fully

understand its impact on the SEN space.”

And Laura Thompson, senior

associate at Browne Jacobson,

said: “It’s refreshing to see

SEND placed at the centre

of the education agenda, and

commanding a significant slice of the core

schools budget, given the acute nature of the

challenges facing the SEND system.

“Parents, as well as school and local

While the level of funding is significant, it is

— unfortunately — only likely to paper over

the cracks of a system that requires longerterm

investment and, as the NAO report

highlighted, requires whole-system reform

authority leaders, will be eager to hear more

from the Government about its plans for

reform and how it will ensure investment in a

system that currently costs £10.7bn a year, as

set out in the National Audit Office’s recent

report, can be spent better.

“Special school places are at a premium

and mainstream schools have been struggling

to support pupils with increasingly-complex

levels of SEND for far too long.

“It is no coincidence that there has

been a 24% increase appeals to the SEND

tribunal and a 71% increase in disability

discrimination claims in the 2022/2023

academic year, compared to the year before.

“It will be interesting to see how the

investment can be realised in ‘real terms’

and whether it will alleviate the pressure on

the SEND tribunal.

“While the level of funding is significant,

it is — unfortunately — only likely to

paper over the cracks of a system that

requires longer-term investment and, as

the NAO report highlighted, requires

whole-system reform.

“When special schools say they are ‘at

capacity’, they mean it.

“DfE guidelines make clear that ‘medical

and therapy rooms … are essential to

supporting teaching and learning’. But we are

increasingly hearing about special schools

that have converted every last morsal of

space to try to create viable teaching spaces

in buildings designed for significantly

fewer pupils, which includes spaces such as

therapy rooms.

“The signal of prioritisation of the SEND

system is a welcome start but, just as the

Government is launching a 10-year plan

for the NHS next year, it needs to quickly

follow up with a plan for reform of the

SEND system to make it work better for all

stakeholders — as is so desperately required

by those most in need.”



Independent schools

To no one’s great surprise, Reeves

confirmed Labour’s tax raid on

private schools and parents of

private school pupils.

She said in her speech: “94% of children

in the UK attend state schools.

“To provide the highest quality of

support and teaching that they deserve we

will introduce VAT on private school fees

from January 2025. And we will shortly

introduce legislation to remove their

business rates relief from April 2025, too.

“We said in our manifesto that these

changes, alongside our measures to tackle

tax avoidance, would bring in £8.5bn in the

final year of the forecast and I can confirm

today that they will in fact raise over £9bn.”

Following the announcement, The

Independent Schools Council (ISC) has

revealed it plans to launch legal action

over the decision.

It will be working with human rights

barrister, Lord Pannick KC, alongside Paul

Luckhurst from Blackstone Chambers and

the law firm, Kingsley Napley.

Legal proceedings will begin shortly and

the case will centre around breaches of the

European Convention on Human Rights and

the Human Rights Act 1998.

Julie Robinson, chief executive of the

ISC, said: “This is a decision that has not

been taken lightly and has been under

consideration for many months.

“At all points throughout this debate,

There are ways in which the policy has been

implemented that could have been less punitive

to independent schools and the families who

send their children to such schools

our focus has been on the children in our

schools who would be negatively impacted

by this policy.

“This focus remains and we will be

defending the rights of families who have

chosen independent education, but who

may no longer be able to do so as a direct

result of an unprecedented education tax.”

Robert Lewis, a partner at law firm,

Mishcon de Reya, adds: “The fact that the

ISC is taking this action is an indication

of how problematic this policy is for the

independent school sector.

“There are ways in which the policy has

been implemented that could have been

less punitive to independent schools and

the families who send their children to such

schools, such as implementing the measure

to align with the academic year, or staging

the VAT charges over time.

“That said, challenges to primary

Higher and Further Education

The Budget allocated an additional £300m

to further education, although Reeves

did not set out how the funds are to

be distributed.

The Government is also taking steps to

transform the Apprenticeship Levy into

a more-flexible Growth and Skills Levy

by investing £40m to help deliver new

foundation and shorter apprenticeships

in key sectors.

And there was a £950m injection

into skills capital, including £300m

of new funding to support colleges to

maintain, improve, and ensure suitability

of their estate.

Commenting on the news, David

Hughes, chief executive of the Association

of Colleges, said: “It was good to hear

the Chancellor talk about the vital role

further education has in the Government’s

ambitions and aims.

“It was even better that in a very-tight

budget she has announced £300m for

further education, £40m from the Growth

and Skills Levy, and £950m for skills

capital funding.

legislation are extremely difficult, particularly

a Finance Act in relation to a policy that was

in the Government’s manifesto and heavily

trailed before the election.”

And Courteney Donaldson, managing

director of childcare and education at

Christie & Co, warned the Government’s

decision could lead to an increase in

independent school properties coming to the

market as they are forced to close.

She said: “The full impact of VAT

introduction on enrolment levels will not be

fully understood for some time, but to also

introduce Business Rates from April 2025

will further squeeze private schools.

“Many providers that had considered

delaying exit plans may look to bring forward

their plans due to increasing employment

costs and tax reforms eradicating much

of the benefit they would have been

expecting to see.”

Image, Marlon Rondal from Pixabay

“These are a good start to turning round

14 years of severe cuts and underinvestment

in colleges and they show that the Treasury

recognises the need to invest more in

FE colleges in order to deliver on the



Government’s missions.

“It gives me hope that there will be a

better, longer-term investment plan set out

in the spring 2025 spending review to ensure

that colleges can thrive and make an even

bigger impact in coming years.”

He added: “We have already started

detailed conversations with the

Department for Education to understand

the implications for colleges and will

communicate more when we know more.

“An urgent question, however, is whether

the National Insurance increase, which we

believe will cost colleges around £50m, will

be funded in addition to the £300m.”

The Budget lacked any headlinegrabbing

announcements about university

funding or student finance, leaving many

in the sector concerned about continuing

financial pressures.

Vivienne Stern MBE, chief executive

of Universities UK, said: “The higher

education sector is one of the UK’s greatest

strengths and a national success story that

the Government cannot afford to let slide

into decline.

“Universities are pillars of local

communities, creating opportunities people

may not otherwise have and injecting

billions into local economies.

“We should feel incredibly proud as a

country that we have built thriving hubs of

research that drive innovation with industry

in every part of the UK.

“We’re now at a pivotal moment where

if we invest in university teaching and

research, we will see the benefit across the

economy, communities, and to people’s lives.

“But if universities are neglected in the

Budget, we risk sliding into decline with the

UK falling behind in an area where today

it has a considerable advantage over its

global competitors.”

And Nathalie Jacoby-Danesh, partner

in the higher education team at Browne

Jacobson, said there would likely be more

university collaborations to drive research.

She adds: “The Autumn Budget lacked

any express, meaningful financial support

for higher education, such as direct support

for struggling institutions, an inflationary

rise in tuition fees, or explicit mention of

reducing the research funding gap.

“It remains to be seen how any funding

envelopes on core research, innovation

clusters, further education, and the Growth

and Skills Levy may assist universities to

balance the books.

“It is clear that institutions must continue

their drive to maximise their own assets.

“Success in commercialising research rests

upon the development of an innovation

lifecycle strategy that is aligned with

research strengths, ensures intellectual

property is effectively recorded and

protected, while keeping an open mind on

the best routes to monetising knowledge.

“We also expect closer collaborations

between institutions to take place, ranging

from shared services to formal mergers.

“We would anticipate institutions

to collaborate increasingly in large

metropolitan areas or regions across

the tertiary sector, or along subject

specialism lines.”

Capital spending

Reeves confirmed there would be more

money for crumbling school buildings.

The Department for Education will get

£6.7bn in capital funding next year.

Of this, £1.4bn is to deliver on the

existing School Rebuilding Programme,

which was announced in 2020 and

aims to rebuild or refurbish about 500

schools in a decade.

This extra cash also includes £2.1bn

for school maintenance — an increase of

£300m compared with this year.

But teaching unions have warned

that, while extra capital investment is

welcome, the rebuilding plan is ‘woefully

unambitious’ and the money is not

enough to restore the school estate to an

acceptable condition.

Academy capital funding consultant,

Tim Warneford, said of the extra £300m:

“It would be ideal if this is targeted at the

Condition Improvement Fund pot, as this

has remained static over the past several

years and the number of projects funded

has been going down.”

And any long-term success

will rely on a new public-private

model for the delivery of estates

improvements, according to

Peter Jackson, senior associate at

Browne Jacobson.

He told Education Property: “A

commitment to ramp up the school

rebuilding programme will of course be

welcomed by school leaders, who have

long been trying to draw attention to

the outdated and potentially-dangerous

buildings on their sites — an issue that

finally came to the fore in the reinforced

autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC)

crisis that many believe is just the tip

of the iceberg.

“Low confidence within the construction

industry, resulting from high inflation and

interest rates, has led to delays in getting

the programme running at full speed, so

extra funding should help ignite greater

interest for projects.



Low confidence within the construction industry, resulting from high

inflation and interest rates, has led to delays in getting the programme

running at full speed, so extra funding should help ignite greater

interest for projects

“Whether the funding pledged will be

enough to truly address an acute problem

remains to be seen, however.

“The last major building programme in

education was underpinned by the private

finance initiative (PFI), which helped

deliver almost 1,000 schools during the

1990s and 2000s.

“PFI was cancelled in 2018 after receiving

criticism for issues including perceived poor

value for the taxpayer and windfalls for

investors that refinanced debt at lower rates

following the riskier construction phase.

“But, with the National Audit Office last

year identifying 24,000 school buildings as

beyond their initial estimated design life,

it’s unlikely the state will be able to fund a

programme of this scale on its own.

“Therefore, the Government must

identify a new private finance model that

learns from the mistakes of PFI to ensure

the public purse receives better value and

control, while remaining attractive to

the private sector — and can ultimately

help bring our school estates into

the 21st Century.”

John Hutton, a former cabinet minister

who now chairs the Association of

Infrastructure Investors in Public Private

Partnerships, added: “The Chancellor’s

commitment to public investment in new

infrastructure is to be welcomed.

“However, it will be impossible to get the

scale of investment needed to get Britain

building again without private financing.

“The UK is one of the only countries in

the developed world that doesn’t use public

private partnerships to build new schools,

hospitals, and transport.

“We need a modern partnership between

the private and public sectors that addresses

the issues of the past if we’re avoid another

lost decade of British infrastructure.”

Commenting on the impact on individual

sectors, Jennifer Gill, director in the leisure

and trade team at Savills, warned that private

and independent schools faced tough

decisions about their estates.

She said: “The Budget confirmed what

we already knew about the introduction

of 20% VAT on private school fees, so to

all intents and purposes nothing changed

between the Budget and when the first

confirmation came during the summer,

but the removal of the VAT exemption

contributes to an ongoing cocktail of

financial challenges facing many private and

independent schools.

“As such, we expect to see the number

of schools which had already started to

examine and get a better understanding

of how they use their real estate and

what they could do with their buildings

and assets through a full estate strategic

review to continue.

“We believe there are many schools

which can consolidate activities to generate

property efficiencies and identify surplus

buildings or land which could be used

for alternative uses, or to generate extra

income from non-education activities,

before headteachers or governors need to

explore the potential last-resort option of

selling assets.

“Ultimately, though, in the schools’ sector,

the outcome is likely to be polarisation

between the best schools and others: there

are many headwinds, but those schools

which are well managed with good cost

controls and continued investment, even at

the smaller end of the sector, are performing

well and will continue to attract pupils.”

For these schools, ratable values will also

come into play.

Savills’ head of ratings, David Parker,

said: “What has been somewhat

overlooked in the discourse over VAT on

fees is the confirmation of the removal of

80% of Business Rates Relief for private

and independent schools which are

registered charities.

“Unlike VAT, there is no way to pass

this new additional cost on to pupils via

fees, so we expect to see more private

and independent schools appealing their

rateable values.

“This, inadvertently, could open up

another issue: if their rateable value is

re-examined and found to need to rise to

take into consideration previous capital

improvements, a school could face an even

higher Business Rates bill, resulting in

further financial pressures.

“The risk of under-assessment should

be weighed up against the opportunity to

correct the detail of the existing valuation,

or perhaps even change the method of

valuation adopted for a particular school in

order to arrive at its level of rateable value.

“To add to this pressure, the Budget has

also proposed that any property with a

rateable value over £500,000 will, from 1

April 2026, pay an additional supplement

to fund relief on smaller retail properties in

the high street.

“This may be an inadvertent consequence

of a policy to shift the burden onto larger

warehouses which participate in online

retail deliveries, but it will impact all

properties over a certain size.”

For the further education sector, Savills’

director and co-lead of Savills education

group, Sadie Janes, told Education Property

that the promised funding would not be

a long-term solution to the problems it

faces with the estate, adding: “The Budget

reasserts the Government’s support for skills

and has committed to further investment

into further education, which includes

£300m of new funding to maintain and

improve college estates.

“The increase in funding is positive, but

this will support current, more-immediate

maintenance and condition needs, which

will be subject to prioritisation given the

likely high demand for it.

“It will fall short of enabling growth for

the long term.

“To facilitate skills growth and life-long

learning, the further estates sector will need

to be further supported to put in place the

infrastructure to sustain it.”

But she was more optimistic about the

increase in SEND funding, stating: “The

announcement of an additional £1bn in

funding will be welcomed by providers and

local authorities alike.

“This should allow for the provision of

extra SEND places and help some education

institutions remain stable, although

ultimately there is an ever-growing need for

more places so additional funding will be

required in the future.” n


Policy

Decision to delay

Procurement Act welcomed

Industry leaders have welcomed the

Cabinet Office’s decision to delay

implementation of the Procurement

Act 2023 to enable a policy statement

to be produced.

The Act, which received royal assent on

26 October 2023, will be delayed from 28

October 2024 to 24 February 2025 to allow

the Government to provide a new National

Procurement Policy Statement.

Announcing the decision, Georgina

Gould, Parliamentary Secretary for the

Cabinet Office, said: “Under the Act,

the previous administration published a

National Procurement Policy Statement

to which contracting authorities will have

to have regard.

“But this statement does not meet the

challenge of applying the full potential of

public procurement to deliver value for money,

economic growth, and social value.

“I have therefore taken the decision to begin

the vital work of producing a new National

Procurement Policy Statement that clearly

sets out this Government’s priorities for public

procurement in support of our missions.

“It is crucial that the new regime in the Act

goes live with a bold and ambitious statement

that drives delivery of the Government’s

missions and, therefore, I am proposing

Following the Government’s

announcement of plans to deliver 3,000

nurseries by upgrading spare spaces in

primary schools, ministers have published

further details on how operators can bid

for capital to fund the work.

According to the guidance, the School-

Based Nursery Capital Grant is a one-time

grant available for eligible state-funded

primary-phase schools.

And schools can bid for up to £150,000 of

funding to use for capital expenditure to:

• Convert spare space within school buildings

into a new nursery

• Expand an existing nursery

The grant cannot be used for any of

the following:

• To upgrade existing nursery provision

without adding new childcare places

• For new builds on spare land

• For extension projects which do not also

include the use of existing spare space in the

school building

Image, Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

a short delay to the commencement of

the Act to February 2025 so this work

can be completed.

“I am confident that the extra time to prepare

will allow for a more-seamless transition,

ensuring a smoother and more-effective

implementation process for both contracting

authorities and suppliers.”

The Procurement Act 2023 aims to create

a simpler and more-transparent regime for

public sector procurement that will deliver

better value for money and reduce costs for

business and the public sector.

It will also act as a framework to drive

economic growth and open up public

procurement to new entrants such as small

businesses and social enterprises.

Welcoming the delay, Louise Bennett,

senior associate specialising in public

procurement at UK and Ireland law firm,

The grants are the first stage in a long-term

commitment to expand school-based

nurseries across England.

Applications for funding are open to statefunded

primary-phase schools in England that

already offer some early education, such as a

reception class.

Maintained nursery schools and special

schools cannot apply because they do

not have spare space created by declining

primary school rolls.

They are, however, being encouraged to

register their interest to open new nursery

places in the future.

This will help inform future development

of the programme.

To qualify, projects must meet all the

eligibility criteria within the application. This

includes securing support from the local

authority and obtaining consent from the

landlord or relevant freehold landowner,

where necessary.

The Government will evaluate applications

Browne Jacobson, told Education Property:

“A four-month delay to the implementation

of the Act gives much-needed breathing

space to public authorities, a large number of

which understandably weren’t ready for the

significant changes it brings due to the late

arrival of statutory guidance.

“This legislation will fundamentally transform

how the public sector purchases goods

and services, with an overarching principle

of ensuring it delivers value for money,

maximises public benefit, and acts with

integrity throughout a procurement exercise

that should also continue to focus on equal

treatment to bidders.

“It places a greater emphasis on

transparency, supplier performance, and

non-financial criteria such as quality, local job

creation, and environmental impact.

“This requires public authorities to review

procedures and skillsets within their

organisation before the Act comes into force,

while contract management should be top of

the ongoing strategic considerations in order

to run smooth procurement exercises.

“They would be wise to use the extra time

afforded by the Government to ensure they

are up to speed on the new regulations and

have everything in place so they are now

ready from 24 February next year.”

Guidance for schools expanding nursery provision

that meet the eligibility criteria against

the assessment criteria detailed in the

School-Based Nursery Capital Grant

2024-2025 guidance.

Any responsible official representing the

school, such as a school or multi-academy

trust leader, can submit a bid and the bid coordinator

must have access to the school‘s DfE

Sign-in account to apply for the grant through

the online application service.

And all applications, including all supporting

documents, must be uploaded via the online

application service by midday on 19 December.

Schools interested in opening a schoolbased

nursery in the future, but which are

unable or ineligible to apply in this round,

can register your interest online. This

includes schools that:

• Do not meet the current eligibility criteria

• Are considering opening a nursery within a

more-extended timeframe

• Are facing other challenges at this time

which prevent an application being made


13 February 2025

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Finance and Property

Images, Tung Lam & Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Accommodation

impacts student

choice

Student

Accommodation

Survey

2024 Now in its fifth year, the Knight Frank/UCAS Student Accommodation

Survey provides a unique insight into the opinions and preferences of

students about where and how they live. The results help developers,

investors and universities plan effectively for the future.

knightfrank.com/research

New report reveals that accommodation and facilities

are key to students’ university choices

Purpose-built student accommodation

(PBSA) developments with fast

WiFi, 24-hour security, and onsite

launderettes are more likely to attract

learners, according to a new report.

In partnership with the Universities and

Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS),

global property consultancy, Knight

Frank, has released its annual Student

Accommodation Survey — believed to be

the biggest survey of university applicants

and current university undergraduate and

postgraduate students into accommodation

choices in the UK.

Now in its fifth year, the survey captures

the perspectives of prospective and current

students from across the UK.

And, as universities, developers, and

investors navigate rising costs and supply

constraints, the report reveals key trends

that are reshaping the PBSA sector.

A significant 65% of first-time university

applicants said the availability of suitable

accommodation influenced their choice

of institution.

WIDESPREAD APPEAL

This underscores the importance for

developers and operators to ensure

adequate, high-quality housing options that

appeal to the next generation of students.

The report also points out that

affordability remains the leading concern,

with 69% of students indicating that PBSA

offers a more-appealing choice, particularly

in light of rising living costs.

Neil Armstrong, joint head of student

property at Knight Frank, said: “It’s clear

that accommodation plays a critical role in

students’ decision-making, both before and

during their studies.

“Purpose-built accommodation not only

enhances the student experience, but also



How important were/are the following factors when choosing accommodation for your first year?

% of applicants selecting each factor as ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important

Quality of accommodation

Overall cost

Location of the property

Cleanliness of the bedroom

Value for money

Bills included

Facilities (e.g. WiFi, gym)

Quality of the furnishings

Living with other first years

Good reviews

Self-catered option available

Students' wellbeing supported

Access to outdoor spaces

Social scene

University-operated

Studious atmosphere

Number of bedrooms

Natural light in the bedroom

Bedroom size

On-site staff

Overall size of the property

Strong brand reputation

Option to extend lease

Environmental impact policy

Friends in the same property

Friends in the same room type

Operator I am familiar with

Fully catered option

Privately-operated

16%

15%

15%

19%

19%

22%

26%

helps students manage their living expenses

more effectively, especially as utility costs

and rents continue to rise.”

The 2024 findings show a growing

preference among students for amenities

that deliver tangible benefits.

Fast WiFi, 24-hour security, and

onsite laundrettes were ranked as

essential features.

Interestingly, the survey also revealed

that students are increasingly prioritising

wellbeing services over luxury amenities.

37%

35%

34%

40%

43%

43%

47%

46%

52%

51%

59%

58%

65%

64%

69%

80%

83%

Source: Knight Frank/UCAS Student Accommodation Survey 2024

86%

85%

85%

84%

84%

support — onsite wellbeing services are

increasingly seen as indispensable.”

With rents for PBSA rising by 7.6% in

2024, affordability remains a pressing issue.

The survey revealed that 44% of students

said accommodation costs had negatively

impacted their university experience.

How important are the following factors when choosing accommodation?

% of applicants selecting each option as ‘important’ or ‘very important’

Furthermore, 88% expressed concerns

about rising living costs, with many

students seeking additional sources

of income or support from parents

and guardians to cover their rent and

living expenses.

AFFORDABILITY

Katie O’Neill, head of student

accommodation research at Knight Frank,

who conducted the research, said: “The

affordability gap continues to widen,

placing additional strain on students and

their families.

“For investors, developers, and operators,

this means delivering the best-possible value

while also adapting to evolving student

expectations, particularly around cost and

support services.”

As the UK continues to experience a

mismatch between the supply of PBSA and

student demand, Knight Frank’s report

urges universities and the private sector to

collaborate more closely on developing new

accommodation.

O’Neill said: “Collaboration between the

public and private sector will be crucial in

planning for growth.

“Universities are at the centre of this as

they have the data on the demographics

and requirements of projected intakes

that will enable conclusions to be made on

future requirements.

“Ultimately, at a time where so many

universities find themselves in precarious

financial positions, insufficient or

unsuitable accommodation is a real risk to a

university’s reputation.”

The report estimates that by the end of

the decade, PBSA will accommodate the

majority of second- and third-year students,

offering significant opportunities for

investors and developers. n

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

Some 78% of current students noted

that their accommodation provider’s

commitment to supporting mental health

was important to their housing choice.

Merelina Sykes, joint head of student

property at Knight Frank, said: “This

year’s survey reinforces the need for

student accommodation providers to focus

on the essentials that impact students’

day-to-day lives.

“While amenities like cinema rooms and

swimming pools are nice-to-haves, students

overwhelmingly prefer practical, wellmanaged

facilities. This extends to pastoral

61% 60%

Commitment

to supporting

student

wellbeing and

mental health

That a provider

is committed to

inclusivity

55% 54%

That the

building meets

environmental

standards

The good

recycling

facilities

on site

40%

The relationship

a provider has

with ethical

companies

31% 30%

A providers'

approach to

single use

plastics

A provider is

committed to

investing in

community

projects

28% 27%

A providers'

commitment

to becoming

net zero

Opportunities

are provided

for students

to take part in

volunteering

25%

The

campaigning

that an operator

has undertaken

on behalf of

environmental

issues

Source: Knight Frank/UCAS Student Accommodation Survey 2024



Thriving market

for big players

and international

investors

Simon Woodcock, partner at LAVA Advisory,

reveals why the UK education sector presents a

compelling opportunity for international investors

The UK education sector has

undergone many changes over

the years, and that evolution is

only accelerating.

What was once a more-traditional,

localised space has become an increasinglydynamic

market, attracting significant

interest from major corporate players and

international investors alike.

The convergence of changing government

policies, the rise of global education groups,

and the introduction of VAT on school fees

has primed this sector for transformation.

ON THE UP

The increasing presence of large global

education groups, such as Globeducate,

Nord Anglia Education, and Cognita, is

one of the clearest indicators of the growing

commercial interest in the sector.

These conglomerates are expanding their

footprint in the UK and internationally,

focusing on building networks of premium

schools that offer high-quality, Englishstyle

education.

Their strategy hinges on consolidating

the fragmented private school market

The increasing

presence of large

global education

groups, such as

Globeducate, Nord

Anglia Education,

and Cognita, is

one of the clearest

indicators of the

growing commercial

interest in the sector

and delivering a globally-recognised

educational experience.

Globeducate, for example, operates

over 60 schools across multiple countries,

offering a range of models from the

International Baccalaureate to the

British curriculum.

With its focus on bilingual education and



Global groups can bring best practices from

other countries, advanced management

expertise, and strong financial backing, which

can help raise the standards of schools under

their umbrella

preparing students for a globalised world,

Globeducate has become a key player in

shaping the future of private education.

Its model is built on acquiring reputable

schools, enhancing their operations, and

benefiting from cross-country synergies in

curriculum development and staff training.

Nord Anglia and Cognita follow a similar

path, both actively growing their presence

in the UK while looking for opportunities

to acquire additional schools.

The global nature of these groups also

allows them to attract international

students, especially those from countries

where the British curriculum is particularly

highly regarded, like China and

the Middle East.

This trend has significant implications

for the market.

Global groups can bring best practices

from other countries, advanced

management expertise, and strong financial

backing, which can help raise the standards

of schools under their umbrella.

Additionally, by leveraging scale, these

groups can mitigate some of the financial

pressures posed by the VAT changes,

ultimately positioning themselves to

dominate the market.

FUELLING GROWTH

While large education groups are making

waves, the rise of educational technology

is another key driver of change in the

education space.

The pandemic accelerated the adoption

of digital learning tools, and many schools

are now embedding technology as a

permanent feature of their teaching models.

While there will always be a need for

bricks-and-mortar institutions, platforms

that support blended learning, data

analytics, and remote teaching are in high

demand, not just in the UK, but globally.

This growing reliance on edtech presents

a unique opportunity for both corporate

investors and private equity firms looking to

invest in the education sector.

Tech giants like Google and Microsoft

are already deeply embedded in the K12

system through their cloud-based learning

platforms, and we’re now seeing increased

interest from venture capital in homegrown

edtech startups.

Whether it’s software that helps teachers

track student progress, or AI-driven

tutoring systems, the potential for growth

in this area is enormous.

For investors, edtech offers a

way to capitalise on the digital

transformation of education.

Schools are increasingly willing to

spend on technology that enhances both

teaching and operational efficiency, making

this a high-growth area that’s attracting

international investment.

In fact, UK-based edtech companies

are increasingly looking to expand

internationally, particularly to emerging

markets where access to traditional

schooling is limited, but digital

infrastructure is growing rapidly.

A MAGNET FOR CAPITAL

The UK education sector has long been

desirable for international investors, and

this trend shows no signs of slowing down.

Whether through direct acquisitions

of schools, or strategic partnerships,

international capital is flowing into

the UK as foreign investors look to tap

into the country’s strong reputation for

quality education.

Chinese, Middle Eastern, and US

investors have been particularly active.

Chinese investors, for instance, are

increasingly buying into the private

school market, driven by a burgeoning

population seeking British-style education.

Similarly, sovereign wealth funds from

the Middle East, particularly from Qatar

and the UAE, have shown significant

interest in acquiring prestigious UK schools

or establishing their own institutions.

Much of this international interest

stems from the global prestige of the UK’s

education system.

British schools are seen as gateways to top

universities, making them highly attractive

to international families.

This demand, combined with the

potential for future growth through new

school openings or acquisitions, makes the

UK a compelling market for foreign capital.

THE PATH AHEAD

Looking forward, the UK’s education

sector is set to undergo a period of

significant transformation.

The introduction of VAT on private

school fees will likely shake up the

market, pushing underperforming

institutions out and creating opportunities

for larger education groups and

investors to step in.

At the same time, the growing presence

of global education conglomerates and

the rise of edtech are reshaping how

education is delivered, while attracting

international capital.

For the M&A market, this presents a

compelling opportunity to help clients

navigate the shifting landscape.

Whether through the acquisition of

underperforming schools, partnerships

with edtech firms, or strategic alliances with

global education groups; the potential for

growth and innovation in the education

sector is enormous.

With the right guidance and investment,

the future of education in the UK looks

brighter than ever. n

Whether through direct acquisitions

of schools, or strategic partnerships,

international capital is flowing into the UK as

foreign investors look to tap into the country’s

strong reputation for quality education



Property ‘festival’

highlights challenges

LocatED recently held its first-ever

Festival of Government Property,

drawing around 80 attendees to

a day filled with insightful sessions and

networking opportunities.

The event, held both virtually and

in person, focused on enhancing

collaboration, professional growth, and

tackling property challenges across the

education sector.

The first session on networking and

presentation skills was led by LocatED’s

chief executive, Lara Newman, emphasising

the importance of networking in

professional development.

Participants explored effective

networking strategies, shared personal tips,

and engaged in interactive discussions.

Newman also provided a masterclass

on presentation skills, highlighting design

tips and delivery.

PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

In the second session, which featured

a panel from the Government D&I

Shadow Boad and was led by LocatED’s

programme lead for net zero and

governance, Nadia Persuad, the importance

of genuine career narratives in professional

development was explored.

The panellists talked about their

unexpected professional journeys

and discussed their professional

development, obstacles they overcame, and

accomplishments.

Other sessions included a panel

discussion led by LocatED’s head of net

zero and estates efficiency, Will Atlee,

on achieving net zero across government

property and how to accelerate delivery.

Speakers highlighted the role of

sustainability in government property

strategies, emphasising the need to

integrate sustainability at the core rather

than as an add-on.

DRIVING EFFICIENCY

And they called for a strategy focused on

reducing emissions while ensuring efficient

use of resources.

They also stressed the need to engage and

prepare the next generation for careers in

green industries.

Finally, the event was wrapped up by

the ‘fishbowl’ panel discussion on best

use of assets led by LocatED’s associate

director of estates efficiency, Rav Cheema,

who highlighted the challenge of dealing

with large amounts of unused or obsolete

buildings and spaces across the UK,

particularly in urban centres.

Key take-home points from the

discussion included:

• There is a growing need to retrofit old

buildings rather than demolish them

as they can play significant roles in

revitalising town centres and supporting

the evolution of spaces. This includes

collaboration between the public and

private sectors to make these spaces

viable and sustainable

• The challenge lies in raising funds for

retrofitting and adapting buildings to

modern standards. Traditional models

of leasing and occupation may no

longer be fit for purpose and innovative

ways of funding and leasing need to be

explored, such as engaging public sector

involvement and experimenting with

new leasing models

• The public sector often plays a crucial

role in activating these spaces when the

private sector fails to do so

• Engaging local communities is key to

the successful reuse of these spaces.

Empowering communities to manage

and use these buildings can enhance

social value. Community interest

companies and resident-led boards

are ways to involve people directly in

managing the assets they use

• For spaces that remain in transition,

entrepreneurial approaches are needed.

Short-term uses such as pop-up

offices, shared workspaces, and flexible

leasing models can help mitigate

costs and make these spaces more

productive in the interim

• It is essential to foster trust and deep

engagement with communities when

managing assets. Traditional community

engagement can be expensive, but the

long-term benefits of fostering trust,

shared ownership, and collaboration far

outweigh the costs. Innovative tools like

AI platforms and community review

panels can aid in this process n


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Finance and Property Deals

University appoints

property adviser

The University of Warwick Science Park

(UWSP) has appointed Carter Jonas as

its sole property adviser on its innovation

campus across four strategic locations in

the West Midlands.

The sites, including the University of Warwick

Science Park campus, the Business Innovation

Centre in Binley, Warwick Innovation Centre

in Warwick, and the Blythe Valley Innovation

Centre in Solihull, comprise over 280,000sq ft

of lab, office, and workshop space.

The campus provides prospective occupiers

with a range of options including flexible

starter units to large self-contained spaces up

to 20,000sq ft.

The park is already home to over 150

organisations from global occupiers including

Bosch, Continental, LG, and TATA Steel, to

growing companies from spinouts and SMEs

to larger established national operators.

Having launched in 1984, UWSP is marking

a significant milestone this year, celebrating 40

years as one of Europe’s leading science parks,

pioneering knowledge exchange, and business

innovation, and facilitating the growth of techbased

businesses in the West Midlands.

Organisations at any of the sites benefit

from a dedicated growth support team

with experience working with over

2,000 companies to raise money, launch

Braeside School in Loughton,

Essex, part of The Oak-Tree

Group of Schools, is closing

next summer after the property

owner announced it was

selling the site.

Braeside is an all-through

independent day school for

girls and boys aged from twoand-a-half

to 16.

But the site has been earmarked

for development, with pupils and

staff being transferred to other

Oak-Tree Group schools.

The news was revealed in a

letter from The Oak-Tree Group

of Schools’ group managing

principal, Matthew Hagger,

to all parents.

The letter stated: “Braeside

has been operating in leased

premises since the founder

placed the site in a trust in 1972.

products and services, improve marketing

communications, and deliver bespoke

mentoring for growth and start-up companies.

Matt Lee, head of science and technology

at Carter Jonas, said: “We are excited to

be working closely with the University of

Warwick Science Park and local and national

stakeholders to promote this innovative

campus and contribute to the growth of

its community.

“The park’s strong connection to the

university offers current and potential

occupants the opportunity to engage in

collaboration, joint research, and access to a

skilled talent pool.

“These benefits are complemented by a

well-established events programme, which

hosted 100 events in the last financial period,

engaging with 739 businesses.

“There are now opportunities for new

knowledge-intensive companies to join the

existing cluster in both current and future

Property sale sparks school closure

Braeside School, Buckhurst Hill. Image, Oak-Tree Group of Schools, WikiMedia Commons

“Since she died in 1985, the trust

has been administered by a local

legal practice.

“When we acquired the

Braeside business in September

2015 we were unable to purchase

the freehold so we took over the

long-standing lease.

“The beneficiaries of the trust

decided to sell the premises

earlier this year at a price that was

significantly out of reach for us.

“I have been liaising with the

new owner of the site in an

attempt to align our continuing

interests with theirs. However, the

purchaser has designated the site

for development and the ongoing

occupation of Braeside School

in the long term is not part of

their future plans.

“This means that Braeside

School will cease to operate from

July 2025, and will close at the end

of this academic year. The rest

of this academic year will run as

specialist development projects and our team

is well equipped to bring additional value to

this dynamic site.

“With a strong regional network of offices

and a specialised science and technology

team, we have the national reach and

exposure to generate further interest and drive

the expansion of UWSP.”

Mark Tock, chief operating officer at the

University of Warwick Science Park, added:

“We are delighted to partner with Carter Jonas

in taking our property and developments to

market as we strive to achieve our ambitious

2030 Strategy and beyond.

“At a pivotal point in our 40-year journey, it

was important that we appointed the right

partners and the combination of proven

national, regional, and in particular life science

expertise they bring will be an asset as we

fill, build, and refurbish the UWSP portfolio to

support growth of our innovation community

across the West Midlands.”

usual until July 2025.

“We are making available

places for all Braeside pupils to

transfer to the other schools in the

Oak-Tree Group and we will be

working closely with families to

facilitate the moves.

“We own the premises at

each of the other schools and

so there cannot be a repeat of

this situation.

“Part of the plan will be to

facilitate a move to either

Normanhurst, Oaklands, or

Coopersale Hall for those pupils

who choose to transfer.

“At Coopersale Hall, phase

2 of the senior building

programme should complete

by the summer term 2025 and

we will be opening our suite of

new senior classrooms from

September 2025.”



Closed Kingsthorpe day nursery sold

A vacant day nursery property in

Kingsthorpe, Northampton, has been

sold for an undisclosed sum in a move to

increase early years places in the area.

Formerly a day nursery registered for 32

children, and occupying a prominent elevated

position on a corner plot in the Northampton

suburb of Kingsthorpe, the property has been

purchased by Quentin Wade of The Redbrick

Day Nursery, which owns another privatelyrun

setting nearby.

Wade said: “We felt it was essential to

open another day nursery in the area as

the demand for quality childcare has been

outstripping supply.

“Families in Kingsthorpe and the

surrounding communities deserve accessible,

high-quality childcare that supports their

children’s growth and development, and The

Redbrick Day Nursery will not only help meet

this growing demand, but also positively

contribute to the local community by creating

jobs and providing a nurturing environment for

children to thrive.”

The deal was underseen by David Eaves

at Christie & Co, who said: “Upon being

instructed to market this property for sale, it

was clear there was significant opportunity for

a new operator to add value.

“The property was already well configured

and, after an intense five-week redecoration,

I’m delighted that Quentin and the team

have been able to open the setting to new

families and have been able to expand on the

previous capacity by using the property to its

Multi-million-pound refinancing deal

Utsaha Education, owner

of south west London day

nursery, Barnes Day Care, has

secured a £2.5m commercial

mortgage refinance to help

spur the ongoing growth

of the business.

The move will free up cash it

plans to invest back into its child

daycare services, and potentially

future nursery acquisitions.

Having identified a significant

undersupply of high-quality

childcare solutions, Utsaha

Education was set up in 2022

with Barnes Day Care as its

first project.

Providing care for children aged

between 10 months and five years

old, the nursery has capacity for

30 children and boasts a ‘Good’

rating from Ofsted.

It is situated on the affluent and

leafy street of Westmoreland

Road in Barnes and, operating

from a converted house, the team

looks to provide a ‘home away

from home’ setting.

Funded by Allica Bank, the

commercial mortgage refinance

will allow Utsaha to reduce the

size of its debt repayments,

which it can then invest back into

its services, such as exploring

the further use of technology to

aid child development or boost

service efficiencies.

It is also exploring other

potential nursery acquisitions,

having purchased Tiggers

Nursery in Putney in 2023.

Andrew Pitayanukul, managing

director at Utsaha Education,

said: “We’ve found that typically

banks can really struggle

with understanding nursery

businesses, but Allica’s dedicated

healthcare team showed the

value of having real sector

expertise, making the whole

process much easier than we’ve

experienced elsewhere.

“We’re also incredibly grateful

to our broker, Cameron

Hayes at Arc & Co, for the

considered introduction.”

Brian Bovell, specialist

fullest potential.

“This has been a great example of matching

the right property with the right buyer, at the

right time, and is further evidence of existing

operators having confidence in the current

market by bringing a vacant property back

into use to satisfy the increasing demand for

high-quality childcare and education.”

healthcare relationship manager

at Allica Bank, added: “Barnes

Day Care is a stellar example of

a well-run day nursery, serving

a tight-knit community in

south west London.

“The Ofsted reports speak

for themselves and I am so

pleased Allica has been able

to support Utsaha Education

with this refinance and we hope

to continue to help them with

whatever comes next!”

And Cameron Hayes, director

at Arc & Co, said: “With a

people-first approach and clear

knowledge of the sector, Allica

stood out as the best lender to

support Utsaha Education with

this refinance.

“Collaboration was absolutely

key to getting it over the line.

“It’s fantastic to have played

a part in helping support this

brilliant community asset in

Barnes and we look forward

to seeing Utsaha Education

leverage their experience and

continue to grow.”



Former Chelsea school

sold to US group

The educational and charities team

and private office of global property

consultancy, Knight Frank, have sold 47

Redcliffe Gardens in Chelsea, the former

site of Redcliffe Gardens School, for 3.3m.

The school, which closed in 2023, was also

known as the old prep school of Harry Potter

star, Daniel Radcliffe.

The new buyer, Cresconova Academy, is

a global, non-profit online learning platform

based in Silicon Valley and founded by

Barbara Yu and Yen H. Tai.

They plan to repurpose the location as

Cresconova Labs, a pioneering creative

learning centre for children aged 8-16.

This first-of-its-kind lab will offer an

innovative supplementary curriculum,

featuring cutting-edge equipment such

as 3D printers, laser cutters, robotics,

and AR/VR tools.

The aim is to inspire creativity by

encouraging young minds to bring their ideas

to life through hands-on projects.

With a multidisciplinary approach that

integrates science, technology, engineering,

arts, mathematics, geography, and humanities,

Cresconova Labs seeks to foster a deep

understanding of interconnected concepts.

Sam Van de Velde, an associate in education

and charities at Knight Frank, said: “We

are thrilled to have secured the sale for

Cresconova Academy on behalf of Redcliffe

Gardens School.

“This site perfectly suits its innovative

vision for education, combining the building’s

established educational heritage with

cutting-edge learning concepts and we

look forward to seeing how they transform

this space to inspire the next generation of

young innovators.”

Alex Robinson, an associate in the private

office at Knight Frank, added: “Cresconova

Academy is an exciting opportunity for the

capital’s education platform.

ILG acquires independent school

Inspired Learning Group

(ILG) is planning significant

investment in infrastructure

after acquiring St Francis

School in Pewsey, Wiltshire,

from the Hayfran Trust.

The school, founded in 1941,

caters to pupils aged from three

months to 13 years.

And ILG stated it will provide

significant investment in the

school’s facilities and professional

development for its staff

following the deal.

ILG operates 25 UK

independent schools and

nurseries which have more than

3,000 pupils across the UK.

Based in north west London,

the company provides business

and education consultants and

an advisory board for each

of its schools.

The school’s head, David Lee,

said: “St Francis School proudly

boasts a rich history of educating

and inspiring children to become

confident, compassionate

individuals, nurtured within our

caring community to realise their

full potential.

“Our shared values with

Inspired Learning Group

make this partnership an ideal

match, allowing us to prioritise

the wellbeing of our school

community, while continuing

to celebrate our unique identity

and traditions of academic and

pastoral excellence.

“I am genuinely excited to

collaborate with the ILG family,

whose support will help us

fully realise our ambitions for St

Francis School and enhance our

already outstanding education”

Amit Mehta, chief executive

of ILG, added: “We welcome St

Francis School into the Inspired

Learning Group family and very

much look forward to supporting

the school in providing a

stimulating and highly nurturing

education that enables every

“Its prime location in Chelsea provides

an ideal setting for its pioneering creative

learning centre.

“Its vision will capture the imagination of

many and it’s a privilege to have played a part

in their pioneering programme.”

The building is currently undergoing

refurbishment and is scheduled for

completion in early 2025.

pupil to thrive in an ever-changing

global environment.

“Through being part of the ILG

family, St Francis will benefit from

the sharing of best practice and

the latest teaching techniques

to help deliver the best

possible teaching and learning

for its pupils.

“St Francis is a wonderful

addition to our family of

schools, and we look forward

to working closely with

David and his dedicated

team as the school enters an

exciting new chapter.”

St Francis will officially become

part of ILG on 30 November.



Lease arrangement

for London nursery

STORAL MAKES

LANDMARK ACQUISITION

Christie & Co has announced the

sale of Little Angels Nursery in

Brixton, South London.

The Ofsted ‘Good’-rated day nursery can

accommodate up to 80 children from birth to

five years old.

The setting operates from the ground floor

of a well-located council property a short

distance from Brixton station.

And it has a large outdoor play area

that many of the playrooms have

free-flow access to.

The setting was established in 1999 and was

brought to the market to allow the owner to retire.

Following a confidential sales process with

Sophie Willcox at Christie & Co, it has been

sold to the London Early Years Foundation

(LEYF) Nurseries, which also operates an

oversubscribed nursery nearby.

Mike Abbott, director of operations at

LEYF, said: “This is an exciting opportunity

to expand the LEYF offer very close to our

existing nursery, and with the huge added

benefit of a wonderful, large garden for all our

children to enjoy.

“We are very much looking forward to

refurbishing the nursery over the coming

months to benefit the children, staff, and

parents and to help us deliver the highestquality

learning and education upon which

LEYF as a social enterprise prides itself.”

Willcox adds: “This has been a challenging

process which highlights how important

preparing for a sale can be.

“Dealing with the local authority for leases

can add a layer of complexity and time to

the process and so it is important to plan

ahead when selling.

“I am excited to see what LEYF do with

the nursery, and I am sure it will continue

to new heights.”

Little Angels was sold for an

undisclosed price.

Seven-strong nursery group

sold to Kids Planet

Tiptoes Nursery Group, a portfolio of

seven day nursery settings located around

East Yorkshire, has been sold to Kids

Planet Day Nurseries, which now owns 213

settings across the UK.

Originally founded in 2009 by the current

owners, Paul and Helen Gilson; Tiptoes is

an established day nursery group that has

steadily grown in reputation and size to

provide high-quality childcare for over 700

children across seven freehold, purposebuilt

properties located in West Hull, East

Hull, Hessle, Willerby, Sutton, Goole, and

Bricknell Avenue.

The former owners embarked on their

journey of starting a nursery business with

their very young children, Jack and Lucy, who

were their first customers, and the inspiration

behind their venture.

They nurtured their dream into a thriving

group and the decision to sell the business

was not an easy one.

But, following a confidential sales process

with Nick Brown at Christie & Co, the group

has been sold to Kids Planet.

Brown said: “I first met with Paul and Helen

in 2016 when they were looking to expand,

and we have kept in touch since then.

“It was only this year when they were looking

to reassess where they were at that we had a

more-indepth look at where the business and

the market were in terms of potential value.

“This then triggered a highly-confidential

sales process.

“They are a buyer’s dream because they

have been super efficient in providing all the

information a buyer could want.”

Tiptoes Day Nursery Group was sold for an

undisclosed price.

Midlands-based day nursery group,

Children 1st Day Nurseries, has

been sold to Storal, with the national

group becoming one of the largest

and highest-rated in the sector,

offering over 5,000 places across 52

nursery settings.

Founded in 1988 by Margaret Mason OBE,

Children 1st Day Nurseries is renowned

within the sector for providing the highest

levels of childcare across 24 settings located

in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire,

Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, and

South Yorkshire.

The group also includes a leading training

centre in the Midlands and Sheffield.

Together, these offer 2,567 childcare

places and continue to grow year

on year, with a group turnover fast

approaching £30m.

Following a sales process with Nick

Brown and Courteney Donaldson at

Christie & Co, the group has been

purchased by Storal.

Margaret Mason OBE, founder and

former owner of Children 1st Day Nurseries,

said: “I can’t imagine it in better hands.

“It’s been my focus for so many years and

I’m delighted that it will continue to flourish

under Storal’s management.”

Brown, director and head of brokerage

for childcare and education at Christie &

Co, added: “It was a privilege to be invited

by Margaret and the family to run this

once-in-a-lifetime process for one of the

most-sought-after groups in the UK.

“A prerequisite for the family during this

process was to make sure that the group

was passed onto the right people who

would continue to build and nurture all of the

attributes that Margaret has instilled into her

staff and the children over the last 36 years.

“This is the end of an era for the family

and, as a broker, I have always dreamed

of one day selling this group and we are

delighted and very proud to have been able

to make this happen.”

Children 1st Day Nurseries was sold for

an undisclosed price.


Building Design

A new generation’s needs are

driving student housing design

Renae Mantooth, PhD and research lead for

education at HKS; and Jeff Larsen, principal and

regional practice director of education at HKS,

discuss how evolving student expectations and needs have led

to a rethink on the way we design university accommodation

As higher education enrolment rates

climb, an urgent need for quality

student housing is pervasive on

college campuses.

Along with the demand for more oncampus

units and beds, learnings from

the pandemic have caused universities

to understand and prioritise the student

experience differently.

HKS education designers have created

student housing environments on

campuses large and small, resulting in

more than 58,000 beds across the United

States in an evolving higher education

development landscape.

Beyond simply delivering housing units,

our teams conduct extensive pre-design and

post-occupancy research and engagement

efforts to create design solutions that

provide what students really want, and

need, in their living environments.

To help us align with university partners

on how to centre the student experience

and positive outcomes throughout the

design process, our team has developed

coalition research and a framework that

comprises 12 student needs.

BASIC, BUT VITAL

Three of the most-foundational student

needs we have identified are privacy,

socialisation, and comfort.

These needs might seem basic in nature,

but designers must intentionally create

diverse spaces to fulfill these needs and

contribute to each student’s wellbeing and

sense of belonging.

Our team implements design strategies

that range in scale from the individual unit

to the larger campus plan, so students can

thrive personally and academically in their

entire living and learning

By balancing efficiency and affordability

with an elevated student experience in

our design approach, we seek to create

built environment solutions that support

students’ varied and overlapping needs

including — but certainly not limited to —

privacy, socialisation, and comfort.

OPTIONS FOR PRIVACY

Every student arrives on campus with a

different perspective on privacy.

Some may come from households

where they were the only child, or where

they had their own room; while others

may come from larger families where

they shared bedrooms or lived with

intergenerational relatives.

And these prior living environments

shape students’ expectations for privacy in

their on-campus housing.


Building Design

Universities and

designers have

adapted to meet the

evolving needs and

desires of today’s

college students,

understanding that

providing more

privacy in these

intimate spaces can

be better for students’

holistic wellbeing

Today’s student housing is increasingly

designed with apartment and suite

arrangements which provide students

with more privacy and personal space

than traditional residence hall models that

feature shared bedrooms and common

bathrooms and lounges on every floor.

Universities and designers have adapted

to meet the evolving needs and desires of

today’s college students, understanding

that providing more privacy in these

intimate spaces can be better for students’

holistic wellbeing.

However, shared rooms inherently enable

socialisation and can lead to many benefits,

including decreased isolation and higher

retention rates.

For these reasons, we work with

universities to balance their offerings.

Through our design research, we’ve

learned that privacy isn’t something that

can, or should, be limited to the design of

bedrooms and bathrooms.

Providing many options for how, and

where, students can retreat within the larger

campus goes a long way in enhancing their

wellbeing, too.

‘ZOOM’ ROOMS

One design strategy our teams have

implemented to support privacy in projects

such as at the UC San Diego Theatre

District Living and Learning Neighborhood

(TDLLN) are ‘Zoom’ rooms.

Online and hybrid learning hasn’t gone

away since the COVID-19 pandemic eased,

even though many classes are face-to-face

for on-campus students.

Students often collaborate with others

or connect with professors remotely, and

having private spaces in housing buildings

for them to do so provides options for

virtual, private connections.

At UC Davis’ Shasta and Yosemite

Halls, which include a variety of small and

mid-size lounge and study areas, our design

research revealed that students are using the

exterior bridges connecting each building to

make private phone calls.

The bridges are conveniently located

down the hall from student rooms, and

many students said they often stopped on

the bridge to finish conversations before

returning to the space they share with

their roommate.

This example demonstrates that privacy

is something students want, and need, and

that it can be found in unexpected places.

However, the notion of ‘right-sizing’

these shared spaces for increased

utilisation is key.

As we learned in our post-occupancy

study, the mere presence of a glass door can

signal territoriality, limiting the number of

students who use a shared space.

SOCIALISATION

While on-campus living is, by nature,

a social experience, meaningful social

relationships often take time, effort, and

energy for students to develop.

Students have different approaches,

expectations, and needs when it comes to

making friends. Some move far from home

for school and may not know anyone on

campus, while others attend a school close

to home, where they are more likely to

know many fellow classmates.

It’s important for us to tend to varying

degrees of social relationships, so we meet

all the diverse needs of socialisation —

including those that happen online, one on

one, or in a group setting.

A student’s potential social relationships

include those with roommates, floormates,


Building Design

The intent is to design shared spaces at

different scales and for different modes of

interactivity that enhance students’ sense of

belonging within their greater community

others in their building, or other on-campus

residences, and with the entire campus

community at large.

And the design of student housing

can help foster students’ abilities to forge

and maintain bonds with others in ways

that work for them.

We’ve learned that it’s important to

provide spaces and furnishings that support

different modes of gathering.

Common rooms and lounges are a triedand-true

type of space in student housing

buildings, but one or two areas intended for

many different concurrent activities don’t

always provide the right options from a

socialisation (or studying) standpoint.

Similarly, a student bedroom with only

a desk, chair, and bed can’t fully support

certain social activities like playing a board

game or watching a movie together.

Every floor or wing on a student housing

floor makes up a community comprised

of residents supported by one resident

assistant or advisor.

The floor community is an extension of

the more-intimate roommate community,

and we have learned the importance of

expanding those scales of social networks

and supporting them through design.

On a current student housing project in

Florida, our design connects pairs of floors

with one stairwell and shared amenities.

This design strategy gives students the

option to engage with a bigger social

network, in addition to the suitemate

and floor community. Providing more

connections, while still maintaining

the smaller, more-intimate aspects of

a floor community provides a range of

opportunities for socialisation for students

who may want different things in their

housing environment.

We have also been strategic about

fostering social interactions among students

who might not encounter one another daily.

At TDLLN, we applied a concept

of ‘functional inconvenience’, where

students gather in a central location for key

amenities that they infrequently utilise,

such as laundry and fitness facilities and a

community kitchen.

The intent is to design shared spaces at

different scales and for different modes of

interactivity that enhance students’ sense of

belonging within their greater community.

PROVIDING CHOICE

Comfort is foundational in any living

environment — our holistic wellbeing is

enhanced when we feel comfortable and at

ease in the places where we live.

Just like with privacy and socialisation,

comfort is a need that looks and feels

different for every student living on campus.

Some students enjoy living environments

that are open, where they can easily be

surrounded by others and circulate to

different spaces, while others gravitate

toward more-private spaces where

they can retreat.

In today’s student housing, students and

their families can often select from a range

of options for suite and room arrangements,

making choices based on comfort levels and

affordability.

Design strategies that support choices for

comfort can be applied throughout student

housing and campus environments, not just

in bedrooms and suites.

Our research has shown that

providing choice and agency in a student

housing environment contributes to

student comfort.

By designing spaces and incorporating

features that provide comfort for students,

regardless of their activity, whether it be

studying, socialising, or relaxing, we provide

more places where students can freely and

comfortably live their lives.

Even things as simple as self-operated

thermostat and lighting controls can go a

long way toward enhancing comfort.

Through planning discussions with

school officials and student engagement

efforts for a major housing project at UT

San Antonio, we learned it is important

for us to provide students with choice, to

contribute to their overall comfort.

The design includes a variety of unit

options that expand the university’s

housing portfolio and balance affordability

with creating a dynamic, comfortable

community for students.

The building’s circulation is designed

with single-loaded corridors so neighbours

across the hall can’t see into each other’s

rooms. This strategy was an intentional

move to provide students with that next

level of comfort in their living space.

The project also features permeable

transition zones between the outdoors and

shared amenities on the ground floor that

offer a variety of sensory experiences and

supply students with options for respite,

socialisation, and climatic control.

With flexible lounge seating and

varied furniture options throughout,

students can customise their shared

environments for comfort.

PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE

Successful student housing design

prepares young people for different living

situations as they continue through their

academic life.

While learning to advocate for personal

needs is a part of the developmental

experience of on-campus living, students

who have a built environment that supports

them can spend more time focusing on

learning and building relationships than

seeking places that fulfil their needs. n


13 February 2025

Royal Lancaster Hotel, London

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of celebration on February 13 th

Register Now at healthcaredesignawards.co.uk

Case Study

Overcoming the challenges

of project delivery

We look at how Peter Symonds Sixth Form College delivered a major project close to its

originally-planned timescale and below budget, despite the challenges of the COVID-19

pandemic, unexpected discovery of asbestos at the demolition site, and rising inflation

Peter Symonds Sixth Form College

in Winchester, Hampshire, is large

for a sixth form college, with 25

buildings on its main site and a separate

adult and higher education (AHED)

centre one mile away.

Since 2003, the number of students

attending the college has steadily increased,

doubling in the last 20 years and increasing

by 447 between 2019-2021 alone.

The campus’s total gross internal floor

area before the project was 18,991sq m,

which was 3,797sq m below the maximum

recommended space under Education

and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) space

planning guidance, with a continuing rise in

area demography predicted.

In light of this, the college proposed to

build a new general purpose education

block of two floors and 12 classrooms,

with a total floor area of 1,105sq m and a

calculated capacity of 672 new students.

This required the demolition of an old

block attached to a disused swimming pool.

ESTATES DATA

The land of Peter Symonds College is held

by Christes Hospital Trust for the provision

of education by the college.

Both the land, and the buildings on it, are

vested in the trustees who hold it subject

to the trust’s scheme, which is to provide a

further education institution.

Any buildings on the land cannot be used

for any other purpose other than for the

benefit of the college.

The college owns the AHED site which

consists of only one building, with a gross

internal area of 1,159sq m.

PROJECT SET-UP

The college employed an independent

architect, appointed at tender, which also

acted as project manager.

They also employed an independent

quantity surveyor (QS) and a number of

consultants to assist with planning, safety,

electrical, and mechanical engineering.

Funding approval was granted in October

2021, planning was obtained by December

2021, building construction commenced

at the beginning of March 2022, and

occupation took place in January 2023.

This represented a minor delay to the

original programme of four months due

to the discovery of asbestos in the small

building which required demolition and

also the need to decontaminate the site of a

closed swimming pool.

However, the construction timeline was

relatively efficient and flexible due to the

core design being modular.

The project was designed to achieve

Building Research Establishment

Environmental Assessment Methodology

…the construction timeline was relatively

efficient and flexible due to the core design

being modular


Case Study

(BREEAM) ‘Excellent’ environmental

impact rating.

The classroom space specification was

fairly standard with no requirement for

specialist educational facilities.

Together with the planned classroom

capacity, which was deliberately targeted

to be relatively high at 24, this was

planned to give good flexibility to

reconfigure for changing curriculum

requirements in future.

THE PROJECT TEAM

Ascia Construction secured the design

and build contract for the development,

working with Stride Treglown Architects,

Paul Basham Associates, Ridge and Partners

LLP, Scott White and Hookins LLP, Ray

Jones, and TKLS.

GOVERNANCE

Governors were fully involved in the

project from grant application stage, with

six separate information points designed

into the approval and monitoring process.

The following list describes the actions

undertaken by the project team and how

these were integrated with governance

throughout the project.

• Stage 1: Select suitable consultants based

on the outline brief and scope of duties.

Governors approved the final shortlist of

consultants for interviews

• Stage 2: Develop a brief and prepare

a feasibility report, including design,

programme and cost estimate for

approval. Governors approved

costs to proceed

• Stage 3: Develop, design, and prepare

tender documents, selecting a list of

contractors. This enabled governors

to approve the list of contractors

invited to tender

• Stage 4: Evaluate tenders and award

contracts subject to approval. Governors

approved contractor appointments

• Stage 5: Construction activities

commenced. The governors reviewed the

progress reports

• Stage 6: Completion of works and

agreement of final accounts. The

governors were made aware of any issues

• Stage 7: Facilitate user occupation and

resolve snagging issues. The governors

supported the project by being made

aware of any issues

• Stage 8: Post completion review of the

project. Here the governors undertook a

full organisational post project review

A separate committee called the capital

project working group was set up to oversee

the project with clearly-defined delegated

authority and terms of reference.

ACCOMMODATION STRATEGY

The planning process for the project formed

part of a renewed estates masterplan.

The strategy considers the next 10-15

years of potential redevelopment and

adaptation to the college and its environs

in order to provide a cohesive vision for

the way ahead.


Case Study

The content considers the existing

sites and proposes a strategy for

future development.

A separate feasibility study was

undertaken for the project which included

an investment appraisal.

PROJECT BRIEF

The scheme brief was developed by the

senior management team (SMT) in

conjunction with the project manager

architect and with oversight from the outset

by the board of governors.

There were no separate legal advisers

required for the project.

Since the scheme required no special

conditions of planning or contract, the

college was able to rely on existing advisers

for the minimal input required.

The college’s insurance brokers were

kept informed.

SCHEME FUNDING

The project budget was £4.5m, funded 84%

by grant and 16% from college reserves.

The cost estimate was provided based on

initial estimates provided by construction

firms following a comprehensive tender

specification exercise.

It was zero-rated for VAT, being for the

provision of 16-19 education and housing

only grant-funded provision, with the

exception of the potential for very-smallscale

future evening provision.

PROCUREMENT STRATEGY

The main construction contract was put out

to full tender.

Individual professional contracts, such

as CDM and BREEAM consultant,

were awarded by the project manager in

consultation with the director of finance.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The project was managed operationally by

the college’s finance director and head of

estates, working in conjunction with the

project manager (architect) and SMT and

reporting into the governors’ Policy and

Resources Committee.

STAKEHOLDER

MANAGEMENT

Since the college site is in the middle of a

residential area, a communication plan for

engaging with neighbours was arranged

early in the process.

Neighbours were invited to a

presentation regarding the project at preplanning

stage and were involved in the

processing of application advice.

Although the masterplan was not

required by the council as part of the

planning consent, the local council

requested this and the college already

had a masterplan which was updated

for the purposes of future strategy and

communication with stakeholders.

The college held a separate meeting with

the council’s planning and policy officers to

discuss the masterplan and made changes in

response to their feedback.

The updated masterplan was again

submitted to the council following full

board approval.

As part of planning, the college also

employed ecologists to monitor the project

site for potential impact on habitat, with no

significant impacts reported.

PLANNING APPROVALS

Planning approval had already previously

been granted for a similar project which was

not taken forward, so was straightforward

to obtain within the timescale of four

months set out in the project timeline.

CONTRACT AWARD

The contract was awarded via a full tender

and managed by a JCT contract, with a

contingency of 5%-10% of contract value.

Costs were guaranteed and the main

contractor appointment was made by

governors in line with the college’s financial

regulation requirements.

CONTRACT PERFORMANCE

Any variations to contract timelines or

cost were managed by a formal change

control process, which was agreed by the

operational working group.

The appointed quantity surveyor

maintained the log of issues and changes to


Case Study

contract and shared this regularly with the

operational group.

The most-significant change control

process related to the main programme

delay introduced by the discovery of

asbestos and contamination from the closed

pool, both of which needed professional

removal in the demolition phase.

COST CONTROL

Project costs were monitored by the

operational project team and reported to

the Policy and Resources Committee.

Every professional consultant and

contractor line was monitored individually

against budget and all invoices were

approved in line with financial regulations

and recorded as evidence to support

the grant claim.

The actual final project cost was under

budget at £4.2m against a budgeted £4.5m,

and £200,000 grant funding was not

required from DfE due to the underspend.

The underspend was a result of robust

financial monitoring and tight budget

management, with the estates manager and

the director of finance working closely with

the main contractor, the principal designer

or project manager, quantity surveyor, and

the rest of the project team to ensure the

spending was on track.

There was a three-way checking process,

including sign off by the independent cost

consultant or quantity surveyor before

releasing any payments.

And the SMT and governors were kept

fully informed of budget and payments

throughout the course of the project to

ensure governance was robust.

RISK MANAGEMENT

A detailed project risk register was

produced by the project manager and

regularly reviewed by the operational

management group in design

team meetings.

The college also took out a

performance bond against the risk of

contractor insolvency, which was funded

from the grant.

The project included 10% contingency

budget and no cost increases were

allowed under the JCT contract, despite

inflationary pressures impacting towards

the end of the project.

HEALTH AND SAFETY

In addition to the safe removal of

asbestos and contamination from the old

swimming pool, the safety of the project

was ensured by:

• The main entrance to the construction

compound employing banks staff to

guide heavy traffic

The case is a study of how a sixth form college

with a small management team delivered a

major project close to its originally planned

timescale and below budget…

• Containing the site with secure fencing

• A separate generous area allocated within

the secure compound, and in front of

the construction site, for deliveries,

minimising traffic risk in the main site

SUSTAINABILITY

The building was constructed to BREEAM

‘Excellent’ sustainability standard.

This ambition formed a step towards the

college’s £4m wider plan to achieve net-zero

carbon, currently set to halve by 2030 and

achieve net zero by 2050.

PROJECT HANDOVER

Practical completion was achieved

in January 2023.

A potential benefit of employing a

separate architect and QS over a designand-build

contract was the capacity for

fully-independent monitoring of build

quality and snagging.

A comprehensive snagging process was

conducted by the college’s professional

team to ensure an independent evaluation

of final output and rectification

of any issues.

And £300,000 was set aside from

the original budget for fit-out and

specification of fixtures.

Operating and maintenance manuals

were challenged and updated by the

estates manager, who has a background in

engineering and was able to add value in the

specification for the operation of building

infrastructure.

These manuals have all been stored

electronically on a shared drive, so are

easily accessible.

LESSONS LEARNED

A key lesson learned from the project,

due to having an earlier plan ready to be

updated and reused, was to start planning

early for future projects to replicate this

readiness and seek pre-planning advice as

early in the project as possible.

Another learning point was to ensure that

the main contractors are aware of potential

issues well before engaging electrical and

infrastructure subcontractors.

CONCLUSION

The case is a study of how a sixth form

college with a small management team

delivered a major project close to its

originally planned timescale and below

budget, despite the additional challenges

of the COVID-19 pandemic, unexpected

discovery of asbestos at the demolition site,

and rising inflation.

While the project was not a complex

one in terms of eventual output, successful

approaches to the various external

challenges encountered may prove useful to

similar sixth form colleges, in particular. n


Review — Education Summit

The annual event brought together leaders from across the education sector

Dr Jo Ladds of Noble+Eaton

was among the speakers

Green shoots of recovery

We look at the key take-home points from the property stream

at the 2024 Education Summit, held recently in London

shoots of recovery’ can

be seen across the education

‘Green

property sector, according to

speakers at this year’s Education Summit.

The event, organised by Education

Property owner, Nexus Media Group, and

held in London on 18 October, brought

together experts from across public and

private education, from investors and

developers, to architects, contactors, and

product and service suppliers.

As well as an exhibition, there were four

conference streams — EducationInvestor,

Independent School Management, Nursery

Management Today (NMT) Owners Club,

and Education Property — where speakers

provided delegates with information

on the challenges and opportunities

facing the sector.

In a keynote speech by Ashwin Assomull

of L.E.K Consulting, the sector was said to

be coming out of an ‘annus horribilis’, with

‘green shoots of recovery, and then some’.

Assomull said: “Big groups are

continuing to invest, but regional chains are

getting beefier and building more schools.

“M&A has been very busy and even

through COVID big groups were acquiring.”

He said the international student market

was particularly vibrant, making up a large

part of the UK’s university enrolments.

And he revealed there were opportunities

for investors and operators in both the

UK and overseas.

Let’s get the basics right first, then design from

the inside out. We owe it to all building users

to get environments right first time

The event was organised by Nexus Media Group

CHALLENGES

AND OPPORTUNITIES

The Education Property stream, chaired by

Education Property editor, Jo Makosinski,

covered a number of the key challenges

facing investors, developers, operators, and

estates teams, including carbon reduction

efforts, maintenance pressures, and the

importance of good design.

Speaking about design best practice, Alex

Raher, director of Delve Architects, gave

examples of some of the practice’s recent

redevelopment projects, highlighting the

growing trend of retrofitting existing estates

rather than demolishing and building

new facilities.

“People think retrofit is costly, but with

space at a premium we should be looking a

lot more at existing structures,” he said.



Alex Raher from Delve Architects

EDUCATION ‘SUPERPOWER’

Dr Jo Ladds, associate education consultant

at Noble+Eaton, added: “Education is a

superpower and we need to raise the bar in

terms of design.

“We now know a lot more about how

learning happens and need to maximise

the potential — looking at what is possible,

rather than the barriers.

“Every aspect of the environment is our

curriculum, buildings included, so we need

to invest in them

“The UK is falling behind in the rankings

and struggling to recruit teachers, and

refurbishment is starting to happen to

counter this decline.

“50% of senior leaders have carried out

significant refurbishment and 44% believe

current spaces are limiting learning.”

The session also saw commentary

from Chris Kennedy and Tom Woods

of Kennedy Woods Architects and Peter

Courtney of LSI Architects.

Courtney said: “Let’s get the basics right

first, then design from the inside out.

“We owe it to all building users to get

environments right first time.”

SMART BUILDINGS

Talk then turned to the need to create

SMART buildings which harness digital

technology to improve efficiency and

promote learning.

Paul Wilson of Provelio and James

Clay of Jisc gave an overview of the role

technology can play in education estates

moving forward.

Clay said: “Universities are complex,

like 30 different businesses all sharing a

common carpark.

“We are helping them to think about,

It’s about using technology to help us see how

much energy we are using and breaking down

the data we have about our facilities

not just creating SMART buildings, but

intelligent campuses.

“It’s about using technology to help us see

how much energy we are using and breaking

down the data we have about our facilities.

“There is a real mix of buildings in the

sector — some university buildings, for

example, are older than the Aztec empire

The summit also featured a number of exhibition stands

— and while we may not be able to do

everything, it is not impossible.”

Wilson added: “Gathering data and

using it effectively is vital to be able to

make decisions.

“We find most organisations are data

rich, but management poor.

“We need an integrated picture.”



Tom Woods and Chris Kennedy from Kennedy Woods Architects

Paul Wilson from Provelio also spoke in the Education Property stream

Overall, the condition of the estate has been

in decline following underinvestment and we

are seeing safety risks, with 700,000 children

learning in schools that need to be refurbished

STRUGGLING ESTATES

The massive pressures facing the estate were

also highlighted, as speakers addressed

issues such as RAAC, backlog maintenance,

and poor energy efficiency.

Emma Willson of the National Audit

Office (NAO) said its research had revealed

that 24,000 buildings are beyond their

established initial design life, and there

was an £11bn backlog maintenance bill

facing the sector.

“Overall, the condition of the estate has

been in decline following underinvestment

and we are seeing safety risks, with 700,000

children learning in schools that need to be

refurbished”, she added.

“The long-term challenge is that

sustainability also needs to be thought

about and there are real variations in skills

and capital in local authorities and schools,

as well as a lack of senior engagement.”

Rav Cheema of LocatED added: “The

education estate is vast at eight million sq m

— double the size of the NHS

“It constitutes a third of public sector

estates emissions and the cost of running

the estate in increasing, with £1.6bn being

spent a year on energy alone.

“We need to look at how we deliver a

national programme, but one made up of

thousands of small projects, day after day.

“Funding is an issue, but also we need a

change of mindset and we need to use data

to understand the estate.”

LIFE AFTER PFI

Ioan Davies of DAC Beachcroft; and

Matt Reid and Jack Banks of P2G

Contract Support, provided delegates with

information on preparing for life after PFI.

As many educational operators come

close to the end of their PFI contracts, work

will need to be carried out to ensure the

estate is fit for handover.

Davies said: “IPA guidance is to begin

looking at contracts seven years before the

expiry of the contracts, but when you start

depends on how well they are operating.

“If there are issues, these need to

be identified and many people do

not understand the resources needed

for this, with a third of public bodies

saying they do not have the resources to

handle PFI expiry.”

Rivervale was among the exhibitors

Banks explored what may come next in

terms of utilising private capital to support

improvements to the education estate.

“There is a lot of discussion going on

about life beyond PFI and it’s about

demonstrating the use case for private

investment. Has it resulted in better-quality

buildings upon end of contract?”

The day ended with an exploration of the

carbon net zero challenge and the role of

biophilia in education delivery and design.

Speakers included Alex Green of

Let’s Go Zero; Andrew Dutton from

Arcadis; Ben Lowe of TG Escapes; Suzie

Longstaff of London Park Schools; and

Professor Derek Clements-Croome of the

University of Reading.

Commenting on the event, Ian Koxvold

from Supporting Education Group

said: “The content was fantastic and the

attendees were excellent.

“It was the perfect opportunity to catch

up with representatives of most of the

commercial education sector in one day.”

Jashan Bahad of Portakabin added: “The

line-up of speakers was great, bringing fresh

perspectives and inspiring ideas.”

And Holly Bryant of Gerrard Eve said:

“The event brought together brilliant

minds from across the space.” n

To find out more about next year’s event, visit

www.education-summit.co.uk


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Inside issue 03, June-July 2024

• Special report on the latest acoustic

treatments to address noise

pollution in schools

• Study reveals the impact of lighting on

children with special educational needs

• Nurseries launch petition to force

government to axe business rates levy

Inside issue 04, August-September 2024

• Low-carbon heating key to providing

affordable, safe, and sustainable

student accommodation

• How Labour’s victory in the General Election

will impact on the education property market

• Discussing the untapped potential of

transforming empty commercial premises

into early years education settings

Inside issue 05, October-November 2024

• Designing for expansion — how architects

are helping nursery providers scale their

businesses across the UK

• The impact of well-designed outdoor

play spaces on learning outcomes and

pupil wellbeing

• New professional alliance supports

education estates managers to meet

compliance demands

EDUCATION-PROPERTY.COM

Environmental

Net-zero approach creates

uplifting teaching spaces

Nadezda Kazakova and Luke Evans discuss LSI Architects’ approach to delivering some

of the first ‘net zero carbon in operation’ schools for the Department for Education

Funded under the Department

for Education’s (DfE) Schools

Rebuilding Programme, the two

recently-completed major ‘net zero carbon

in operation’ redevelopments provide stateof-the-art

educational facilities at Kineton

High School and Hartshill Academy, both

located in Warwickshire.

Kineton High School is a mixed

comprehensive six-form entry academy

school providing secondary education

to 1,100 pupils.

As part of the revamp a series of

smaller buildings have been replaced by

a new three-storey teaching block, which

provides general teaching accommodation

alongside a Learning Resource Centre,

ICT spaces, and a dedicated study area for

sixth form pupils.

Facilities also include a triple-height

dining area, main hall, and a drama studio.

A new sports block was completed at

an earlier stage in the project, allowing the

school to remain operational throughout

the redevelopment, and provides a gym,

activity studio, and sports hall with

associated changing facilities.

A key component of the brief was

to support community use of the

new sports and main hall facilities,

with separate student and visitor

entrances, promoting a safe and secure

line which the school can manage

throughout the day.

Hartshill Academy is a seven-form entry

school located in Nuneaton, Warwickshire,

and provides secondary education for

1,050 pupils as part of the Midlands

Academies Trust.

Existing teaching facilities have been

replaced with a modern three-storey

building located towards the front of the

school’s campus, which accommodates

new general teaching spaces alongside

a Learning Resource Centre, main hall,

activity hall, and dining hall.

The new building has also improved pupil

movement across the site.


Environmental

MEETING TARGETS

The replacement buildings for the two

schools have been designed to achieve Net

Zero Carbon in Operation (NZCiO),

and with the school estate representing a

quarter of public sector carbon emissions,

the successful decarbonisation of school

buildings is essential to help the UK

successfully deliver on its target for a 2050

net-zero carbon economy.

In collaboration with the contractor,

Wates Construction, and the project

design team, LSI Architects developed

and co-ordinated architectural solutions

to effectively incorporate net-zero

sustainability measures.

The design process of the schools

followed the hierarchy of net-zero design

principles, which focus on a fabric-first

approach to key design decisions, including

the massing of the buildings and placement

on site to control solar gain, thermal

comfort, and heat retention.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

The teaching spaces are designed to

prioritise high levels of natural light

and to provide natural cross ventilation,

with assisted attenuated airpath units

discharging into corridor cross flow

ventilation stacks.

Both buildings benefit from the provision

of high-efficiency equipment and services

such as Mechanical Ventilation and Heat

Recovery (MVHR) systems to ensure a

clean, fresh air supply and minimise heat

loss in the winter.

The remaining energy is delivered

through renewable means with Air Source

Heat Pumps (ASHP) offering highperformance,

energy-efficient heating.

And any residual energy demand is offset

via renewable energy generation featuring

a solar PV roof array and ground-level

solar canopies.

CONNECTING WITH NATURE

Landscape design was also a key

consideration on the projects, with an

ambition to create natural green spaces

that provide opportunities for students to

connect to nature and positively impact

their wellbeing.

The inclusion of meadow seeding,

SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems)

pond planting, rain gardens, and extensive

bio-solar roof also play a significant role in

improving biodiversity on the school sites.

By designing education buildings in

this way, we create spaces that are more

efficient, effective, and aligned with modern

learning needs.

The holistic approach on these projects

has created positive and welcoming

environments, improving the day-today

experience of staff and students by

providing uplifting teaching and learning

experiences and therefore promoting longterm

sustainability.

Additionally, these buildings will support

and strengthen the local community,

ensuring the spaces meet broader societal

needs, contributing to both environmental

sustainability and social wellbeing.

QUALITY SPACES

When discussing NZCiO, the focus is often

on improving the sustainability credentials

for a project and reducing carbon emissions

but, as designers, we feel the principles

are as much about the benefits that can be

realised in terms of enhancing the quality of

educational environments.

This target has the dual benefit of creating

efficient and effective buildings while

also creating a positive and welcoming

environment that contributes to moreuplifting

teaching spaces for both staff and

students as well as supporting the needs of

the local communities. n


Environmental

Taking action

Schools across the country have signed up to

this year’s Zero Carbon Schools initiative

More than 140 schools across the

country are transforming the way

they respond to the climate and

nature crisis as a new cohort of pupils joins

the Green Schools Project.

The project delivers teacher training

sessions and supports schools to reduce

their carbon emissions with a focus on

the learning opportunities provided

by this process.

And this year 143 schools have signed

up to the project’s 2024/25 Zero Carbon

Schools initiative, including 69 schools

which completed the programme last year.

The cross-curricular programme is

for years 4-8 and has links to science,

geography, maths, English, PSHE, and art.

As a result, pupils:

• Learn more about climate change and

feel empowered to take action in their

school community

• Develop leadership, communication,

problem solving, and teamwork skills

• Calculate an estimate of their school’s

carbon emissions

• Lead meaningful projects to reduce the

school’s carbon footprint

In the first phase of the programme, pupils

take part in the ‘Explore’ stage, learning

about the causes and impacts of climate

change and what everyone can do to

help tackle it.

They then proceed to the ‘investigate’,

‘act’, and ‘inspire’ stages where they look at

specific areas and formulate plans to reduce

carbon emissions.

The Green Schools Project team! From Left — Zenobia, Bethany, Henry, Nell, Cathy, and Tom

Shackleton Primary School in Bedford,

part of the Heart Academies Trust, joined

the initiative for the first time last year.

In the ‘explore’ stage pupils learned

about the causes and impacts of climate

change and discovered inspiring climate

changemakers taking action in communities

around the world.

During the ‘investigate’ stage they looked

at the four carbon emission areas of energy,

travel, food, and purchasing; provided data

for the Green Schools Project team to enter

into its school carbon footprint calculator;

and received a poster of their carbon

footprint to raise awareness throughout the

school community.

In the ‘act’ stage, the pupils led

projects to actively reduce the school’s

carbon footprint, with two Year 5 classes

focusing on reducing emissions from

travel and raising awareness of the carbon

emissions generated from journeys to

and from school.

Working as a team, they then created a

‘green pledge’ for pupils and staff to sign up

to promote greener forms of travel.

They also ran a poetry competition

for pupils over the summer to further

raise awareness.

The programme culminated in the

‘inspire’ stage and a celebration of


pupils’ achievements.

By the end of the programme,

pupils saw an improvement

in awareness of sustainability

issues and the impact they have

on the wider community.

• 92% of pupils that

participated want to help

their school and community

to take action about

sustainability issues

• 80% said they have taken

action on school energy use

The Irish Republic Minister

for Education, Norma Foley,

has announced investment of

over €450,000 for Education

for Sustainable Development

(ESD) projects in 105 primary

and 84 post-primary schools.

Funding of between €1,000-

€2,500 has been given to schools

which successfully proposed

their 2024/2025 sustainability

projects for funding under

the second National Strategy

on Education for Sustainable

Development (ESD to 2030).

Included in the funding is the

development of school gardens

and outdoor classrooms and

learning spaces, forest school

projects, harvest festivals,

biodiversity projects, training

• Teachers’ awareness and passion for

climate education has grown, feeling

inspired to help more pupils become

aware of climate issues

• 100% of pupils recommend this

programme to other young people,

mentioning that they enjoyed

learning about climate issues and how

to address them

• The benefits of this experience have

allowed students to gain a strong grasp of

climate issues while also improving their

teamwork and communication skills. n

Irish schools win funding

workshops and teacher CPD,

local air quality, weather station

and local river monitoring,

marine conservation, rainwater

harvesting, building a sustainable

city through STEM, composting,

waste management, and

recycling projects.

ESD to 2030 aims to ensure that

all learners have the knowledge

and skills needed to promote

sustainable development.

The strategy has five

priority areas: aligning

policy, transforming learning

environments, building capacity

of educators, empowering and

mobilising youth, and accelerating

local level action.

Foley said: “I am delighted to see

so many excellent ESD projects

Environmental

FUNDING

FOR SCHOOLS

Whether schools are taking part in Zero Carbon

Schools this year or not, there is plenty of

opportunity to take positive action for the climate.

The Green Schools Project team has handpicked

some of the best resources and opportunities that can

be used as stand-alone activities or woven into the Zero

Carbon Schools programme.

• Learning through Landscapes: Schools can

apply for free outdoor learning training and up

to £500 worth of resources including gardening

equipment, loose parts for outdoor play, litter picking

sets, and more — www.ltl.org.uk/projects/localschool-nature-grants/

• The Royal Society’s Tomorrow’s Climate

Scientists: Schools can apply for grants of up

to £3,000 to run investigative STEM projects in

partnership with STEM professionals from academia

or industry. The programme provides an opportunity

for students to have a voice in the direction of scientific

research around climate change and biodiversity

by working with their STEM partner. It also supports

students to develop green skills as the UK moves

towards a net zero future — https://royalsociety.

org/grants/partnership-grants/unique-schemebenefits/tomorrows-climate-scientists/

• OVO Foundation Nature Prize: Let’s Go Zero and

Ovo Foundation have teamed up to improve children

and young people’s access to nature and biodiversity.

The three-year project will award 25 schools a year

across the UK a cash prize of £1,000 or £200 for

projects that bring their students closer to nature —

https://letsgozero.org/our-competitions/

Kinsale Community School received ESD to 2030 funding in 2022.

It installed a MyGug biodigester to deal with school food waste.

taking place in schools right

across the country again this year.

“Education for Sustainable

Development is a key priority

for the department and we

are committed to supporting

schools to address the

transformation needed to make

our schools places and spaces for

sustainability.

“We want schools to promote

sustainable development and

to empower their students

to take action.”

The funding can be used

by schools to further support

ESD projects and/or capacity

building of teachers and so

implement their Sustainability

Policy Statements.


Environmental

Welsh school leads the way

The first comprehensive net-zero

carbon refurbishment of a school

building in Wales is underway.

Pen y Dre High School in Merthyr

Tydfil, being delivered by Morgan Sindall,

will not only be carbon neutral, but once

complete surplus electricity will be supplied

to Prince Charles Hospital through the

private wire scheme.

Instead of the traditional demolition

and build model for creating carbonneutral

schools, this project has taken a

new approach and will see the existing

school building stripped back to its frame

and built back up with high-performance,

energy-saving materials, power supplies, and

heating systems.

Making our educational estate carbon neutral

is a significant step we can take towards our

ambition to be a net-zero carbon nation by 2050

SETTING THE BASELINE

Part funded by the Welsh Government’s

Sustainable Communities for Learning

Programme, which aims to invest in

and improve educational facilities,

Pen Y Dre is one of the largest school

refurbishments in Wales.

The first project of its kind, it will act

as a case study to help inform future

Sustainable Communities for Learning

Programme projects.

To help meet the commitment to become


Environmental

a net-zero carbon nation by 2050, Welsh

Government requires all new school and

college buildings, major refurbishment,

and extension projects to produce zero or

negative carbon emissions as part of their

operational energy.

Additionally, to support local authorities

and colleges in their journey to net-zero

carbon, the Government commissioned a

baseline assessment of the condition of the

education estate in Wales.

An innovative Elemental Building

Condition and Carbon Survey included

all state-funded schools and further

education colleges.

And it will enable local authorities and

further education institutions to develop a

net-zero carbon route map for each school

or college to assist in the decarbonisation of

the education estate in Wales.

VALUE FOR MONEY

The survey results will form a high-level

proposal on how to achieve a phased

value-for-money, low-carbon solution per

building to assist delivery partners and

provide overarching data to the Welsh

Government on the current status of

decarbonisation of the education estate.

Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne

Neagle, said: “Supporting learners to

become ethical, informed citizens, who

are committed to the sustainability of the

planet is a key part of the curriculum and

it is vital we set this example through our

school and college buildings.

“Making our educational estate carbon

neutral is a significant step we can take

towards our ambition to be a net-zero

carbon nation by 2050 and it is a key

part of our Sustainable Communities for

Learning Programme.

“It has been fantastic to see the phased

approach and work being done at Pen y Dre

High School and it is a positive example

of how we can modernise, expand, and

decarbonise Welsh schools.”

PARTNERSHIP APPROACH

Sue Walker, director of education at

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council,

added: “The local authority is proud of

the refurbishment work that is being

undertaken at Pen Y Dre High School.

“Undertaking a project of this kind

when the school is still a functioning

establishment has been challenging, but it

is testament to the school community and

contractors working in partnership that

has allowed this to happen with the least

disruption possible.”

The school was designed by Lawray

Architects. The project team also includes

Cambria Consulting, WSP, Arda

Consulting, and Aecom. n


Environmental

University turns down the heat

Voltalis’ demand response technology

has been implemented in student

accommodation on The University of

Wales Trinity Saint David’s (UWTSD)

historic Lampeter campus as part of

efforts to reduce energy consumption and

carbon emissions.

One common issue in student halls is energy

waste, often caused when occupants open

windows instead of adjusting the heating

at the source.

And the mix of 200-year-old and newlyconstructed

buildings on the university’s

Lampeter campus presents additional

challenges in decarbonising the wider estate.

As a global leader in demand-side

response, Voltalis’ work is helping to

address these issues.

The company’s free device connects to

existing electric radiators, turning them into

‘smart radiators’ that can be managed through

the My Voltalis app.

This enables users to easily optimise

energy usage without the need for major

infrastructure changes.

The technology also modulates the flow of

electricity automatically during peak periods,

reducing energy consumption by up to 15%,

lowering costs, and cutting carbon emissions

— all without compromising student comfort.

The system has now been installed in over

100 rooms at the campus, contributing to the

university’s decarbonisation goals.

A SMART APPROACH

Daniel Priddy, head of sustainability

at UWTSD, said: “We’re set to see the

benefits, with energy bills going down,

progress in our decarbonisation goals, and

the integration working seamlessly with

our other sustainability efforts and wider

energy mix reduction.

“Voltalis’ technology effectively makes old

traditional radiators smart without replacing

the radiator system.

“People think installing smart tech is long,

complicated, and expensive, but that doesn’t

have to be the case any longer.

“If you can do it on a campus like this, you

can do it anywhere.”

Dr Randall Bowen, managing director of

Voltalis UK, added: “As educational institutions

face increasing pressure to achieve ambitious

decarbonisation targets, we are proud to

partner with UWTSD on its path to net zero.

“Together we are demonstrating that

innovative solutions can be adopted

across universities and other public sector

buildings at scale, without the need for major

system overhauls.

A measure of success

Robert Gordon’s College

(RGC) in Aberdeen is working

with net zero consultancy, Zero

Matters, to carry out a full audit

of its emissions.

The independent school is

targeting a net-zero future

and has commissioned a full

carbon footprint of its campus

and operations.

The college provides nursery,

primary, and secondary

school education and has set

its environmental goals and

commissioned the carbon

footprint ahead of its 275th

anniversary next year.

It will work with Zero Matters

to carry out the audit and to

design a plan for reaching net

zero and managing the school’s

environmental transformation.

RGC leaders said they hope

to announce the target date

for reaching net zero in the

next few months.

Robin Macpherson, head of

the college, said the school

has always prided itself in

‘breaking new ground’ since its

founding to offer education to

disadvantaged children.

“I can announce today that

EMPOWERING STUDENTS

“With the right technology, institutions can not

only cut emissions and reduce costs, but also

empower students to actively contribute to a

sustainable future.”

UWTSD’s partnership with Voltalis aligns

with its commitment to sustainability and

contributes to the Welsh Government’s goal of

achieving net zero by 2050.

we are now on the journey

to becoming a net-zero

school,” he added.

“This is both our obligation

to society as we tackle climate

change together and in keeping

with our proud history of offering

our pupils and parents a school

they can be proud of when they

are with us, and for long after

they leave us.”


Environmental

Universities share

heat network funding

Three universities are among 33 schemes

to benefit from a £2.7m moneypot aimed

at optimising heat networks across

England and Wales.

The University of Nottingham, University of

Worcester, and the University of Exeter will

share in the cash, awarded to heat networks

in the sixth round of funding allocated under

the Government’s Heat Network Efficiency

Scheme (HNES).

The revenue funding will support studies

to identify issues with unreliable heat

networks, which are currently operating at

low efficiency levels and causing occasional

service interruptions.

At the University of Nottingham, the money

will be spend on the University Park campus

heat network, while at the University of

Worcester it will pay for work to the Edward

Elgar district network.

At the University of Exeter, it will help to

maximise the potential of the network at the

Geoffrey Pope Building.

Minister for Energy Consumers, Miatta

Solar panels, batteries, LED lighting,

and loft insulation have been fitted at

five Powys schools with community

centres attached in a bid to make them

more sustainable.

The work is expected to deliver combined

annual cost savings of around £42,000

and carbon savings estimated at 23

tonnes of CO2e.

The sites benefiting from the schemes

developed by Powys County Council’s

Property Design Services are:

• Berriew County Primary School and

Community Centre

• Newbridge-on-Wye Church in Wales School

and Community Hall

• Ysgol Cwm Banwy and Canolfan y

Banw in Llangadfan

• Ysgol Glantwymyn and Community

Centre (Cemmaes Road)

• Ysgol Dolafon and Bromsgrove Hall in

Llanwrtyd Wells

It follows similar improvements made at

school and community centre sites in

Arddleen, Tregynon, and Llangattock last year.

The work has been supported by Assets

Collaboration Programme Wales grant funding

from the Welsh Government (Ystadau Cymru).

Work completed includes:

The grant will pay for an optimisation study

of the Edward Elgar district heat network

Fahnbulleh MP, said: “Heat network

customers should be able to expect a goodquality

service — delivering regular, reliable

heating and hot water.

“Today’s £2.7m funding boost will transform

33 old and inefficient heat networks

across the country.

“This is part of our wider efforts through the

Heat Network Efficiency Scheme — with more

projects set to benefit in the near future.”

Louise Singleton, principal consultant

at Gemserv, added: “It is great to see

HNES continuing to provide vital funding

to old, inefficient heat networks across

Schools cut energy bills by £42,000

• 11 kWp solar panels with 11 kWh battery

storage, LED light fittings, and 200mm

of loft insulation installed at Berriew

County Primary School



of loft insulation installed at Berriew

Community Centre


storage, installed at Newbridge-on-Wye

Church in Wales School

• 3.69 kWp solar panels with 5.8 kWh

battery storage, installed at Newbridge-on-

Wye Community Hall


storage, LED light fittings, and 200mm of loft

insulation installed at Ysgol Cwm Banwy

• LED light fittings and 200mm of loft

insulation installed at Canolfan y Banw



insulation installed at Ysgol Glantwymyn



of loft insulation installed at Glantwymyn

Community Centre



insulation installed at Ysgol Dolafon

England and Wales.

“It is particularly encouraging to

see applicants being pro-active once

receiving the output of their HNES-funded

optimisation studies.”

Commenting on its funding of almost

£24,000, Jess Tasney, carbon reduction and

sustainability manager at the University Of

Worcester, said: “The study will give us a set

of recommendations of things we can do to

improve the efficiency of the heat network,

while maintaining the comfort of users

of the building.

“We hope to then take the findings and

be able to apply them to our other sites

and buildings, in order to work towards

decarbonising the university.”

The university is currently a key stakeholder

in a project to design a detailed plan for a

city-wide heat network in Worcester, using the

River Severn at its heat source.

Tasney said: “While this project is in its

early stages, it demonstrates the importance

of optimising smaller networks, such as our

Edward Elgar heat network, as a critical step in

securing maximum efficiency of regional heat

networks providing low-cost, decarbonised

heat to a range of customers, many of whom

could be university staff and students in

their residences, as well as members of our

local community.”

• LED light fittings and 200mm of loft

insulation installed at Bromsgrove Hall

Councillor Jake Berriman, Powys County

Council’s cabinet member for a Connected

Powys, said: “We are grateful to the Welsh

Government for this grant funding, which

we anticipate will help the schools and

community centres that have benefited to cut

their electricity bills by up to a third.

“It is also helping them to cut their carbon

footprint and moving us towards our target —

set by Welsh Government — to be net zero for

greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

“As a council, we want to support our

communities to be more sustainable for

future generations as part of our Sustainable

Powys approach.”

Jayne Bryant, Cabinet Secretary for Housing

and Local Government, added: “The Welsh

Government is proud to support sustainable

initiatives in Powys through Ystadau Cymru

and the Assets Collaboration Programme

Wales grant scheme.

“This project is a significant step towards

our ambitious goal of achieving net zero by

2030, while also encouraging sustainability for

future generations.”

The projects were all delivered by Ian Jones

Electrical Contractors of Caersws.


People

Browne Jacobson appoints HE adviser

Browne Jacobson has strengthened its

growing higher education practice by

appointing a special adviser with deep

experience in the sector.

As the UK and Ireland law

firm’s first higher education

special adviser, Professor

Janice Kay CBE will provide

strategic input and support

engagement with the higher

education sector.

Her experience includes two decades in

senior positions at the University of Exeter,

including as provost and senior deputy vicechancellor

for nine years until August 2023.

She was also special adviser to vicechancellor,

Professor Lisa Roberts, until

July 2024, and earlier this year co-founded

Higher Futures, a company that supports

universities and sector organisations to deliver

in challenging financial circumstances.

Professor Kay said: “This is a hugelyexciting

time to be collaborating with

Browne Jacobson as the firm seeks to

develop its higher education offering, and

when the sector’s requirement for support

from its legal advisers will become more

important than ever.

“The higher education sector is going

through significant challenges right now amid

a broad range of external headwinds, making

it vital for universities to identify the right

strategy to address these and be in a position

to deliver on their objectives.

“I will look to use my experience of working

inside the sector over the past 20 years to offer

strategic advice and counsel, which will help

to ensure the firm’s expertise is aligned to have

the greatest impact in supporting the higher

education sector.”

Browne Jacobson’s sector-leading

education practice supports higher education

institutions, research bodies, schools,

academy trusts, local authorities, education

charities, and executive government on a full

range of services.

The higher education team supports senior

leadership, management, and in-house

legal teams at higher education institutions

with strategic decision-making and risk

management, as well as advising on matters

such as equality and discrimination, student

welfare, disciplinary, and regulatory.

Bettina Rigg, head of higher education at

Browne Jacobson, said: “Bringing Janice on

board as a strategic adviser and ambassador

is a fantastic addition to our growing higher

education team and we are excited about the

role she can play as we continue to offer a

wide range of trusted, practical legal solutions

to universities.

“Calling on 20 years experience in senior

roles at a Russell Group university, she can

provide a unique insight into the sector’s

inner workings, additional strategic input to

our engagement with the higher education

sector, and assist in developing new

partnerships between universities and our

wider client base.

“Higher education is at the forefront of

society’s biggest issues and, as it undergoes

rapid change in the legal, regulatory, and

commercial landscape, we look forward to

supporting institutions to deliver excellence in

their regions, nationally and globally.”

JPG Group names new managing director

Engineering Consultancy,

JPG Group, has appointed

David Allwood as managing

director of the business.

Allwood has been a director

with JPG since 2018 and

takes over the role from Chris

Harding, who moves to a consultancy role after

nearly 15 years managing the business.

Harding said: “Independence is one of the key

drivers for the JPG team and it has been a great

pleasure to guide the business to this next step

in our internal succession planning.

“David has a wealth of industry experience

and knows the business well and I

am delighted to offer him my personal

congratulations and to wish him every success

for the future.”

A chartered structural engineer with over 25

years experience within the construction and

commercial property sector, Allwood joined

JPG as project engineer in 2007.

He has progressed a high-achieving career

within the business that includes setting up

the Midlands office. He also gained significant

international experience in the Middle East

region, where he lived and worked to establish

the JPG office in The Sultanate of Oman as

country manager.

Allwood is highly experienced with a proven

track record in the delivery of complex schemes

from conception, including education projects.

He said: “JPG has a proud heritage which

spans nearly 40 years and I am thrilled to take

CHRISTIE & CO GROWS CAPITAL MARKETS TEAM

Christie & Co has

announced the

appointment of Beth

Newman as senior surveyor

for capital markets.

The role has been created

following the appointment of

Michael Hodges as managing

director of capital markets in June as part of

the company’s strategy to increase activity

and build its profile within this area.

Newman has joined Christie & Co

from Avison Young where she was part

of the capital markets team based in

Manchester, focusing on both acquisitions

and disposals of investment property, in

addition to providing investment advice to a

range of clients.

Her role also included undertaking due

diligence for large institutional transactions.

In her new role she will be working with

Hodges across all Christie & Co’s sectors on a

up this new role, leading JPG into the next

exciting chapter in our history.

“We have a fantastic business, and our

can-do approach places us at the forefront in

developing the built environment nationwide.

I look forward to supporting the team on our

continued successes.”

Established in 1988, JPG currently employs

45 people within its Leeds and Birmingham

locations and provides civil and structural

engineering consultancy services for clients

throughout the UK.

It covers all major development sectors, with

expertise in every aspect of civil and structural

engineering from initial site investigation to

detailed civil and structural engineering design

and construction support.

national basis across the various regions.

She said: “I am excited to be joining Christie

& Co who are a clear market leader across the

childcare, healthcare, hotel, leisure, medical,

and specialist retail sectors.

“Many investors are now looking to actively

target the alternative asset classes which

reflects Christie & Co’s core business.

“I look forward to working with the Christie

& Co team as we expand our capital

markets proposition.”


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Education Property Issue 06 December 2024-January 2025

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