Academy deal closed in Southampton

Academy deal closed in Southampton

Work will begin on the first of two major Academy building projects within the
month after the city council closed a £15m deal with construction partner
Carillion.

The Oasis Academy Mayfield in Sholing is the first of two projects in the
city worth a combined £35m.

The scheme looked set to be scrapped in July when Tory education minister
Michael Grove announced that the government was pulling the funding on the
Southampton’s  £200 million ‘building schools for the future’ programme.

However pressure from influential figures including Test Labour MP, Alan
Whitehead and Southampton’s Tory education chief, Paul Holmes, helped to salvage
government funding for the Oasis academies.

Councillor Paul Holmes, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services & Learning said:
"Less than a year after setting out to rebuild these Academies we have been
successful in securing an excellent construction partner and gaining planning
permission for an iconic school. Not only that, this project has come in on
budget

The new Oasis Academy Mayfield will boast a large central learning space that
can be adapted for a multitude of uses, including group work, exhibitions and
community use. There will also be a state-of-the-art theatre space that can be
adapted for different performances.

The building has also been designed with the environment concerns of the city in mind including solar panels and natural ventilation, which will help to reduce the carbon footprint of the school by 60
percent over its lifetime.

Aredi Pitsiaeli, Director of Business and Strategic Development at Oasis Community Learning, said: "We are delighted that following recent uncertainty, we have now got the green light to move forward.

The new building will most certainly enhance the learning experiences of each student, but will also
provide some wonderful facilities for the wider community to use. It will
definitely bring the ‘wow factor’ to all who see and use it."

As part of the Academies programme, Carillion has underlined its commitment
to learning in the Southampton area by pledging to create apprenticeships and
work placement opportunities for school pupils and adults in the area.

Carillion is also the preferred bidder for Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill on the west
of the city and is finalising its designs for this school. A planning
application for the scheme was submitted on Monday September 20th.

BLOB Images and a virtual tour/fly-through of the new Oasis Academy Mayfield,
which is due for completion by September 2012, are available to view at: http://www.oasisacademymayfield.org/.Story as it appeared in Southern Daily Echo