York’s Portakabin Group awarded £5.6m school contract

The York-based Portakabin Group and the Education Funding Agency (EFA) have agreed on a contract for the first school in the Surrey and Kent area of the Priority School Building Programme, in a deal worth £5.6m.

The contract follows the Portakabin Group’s appointment as preferred bidder for seven school schemes, which will be worth in the region of £28m and delivered using a Yorkon off-site construction solution.

The first project is a new 480-place school for Pyrford Primary School in Woking which will be constructed by the Portakabin Group and handed over in time for the start of the 2016/17 academic year.

The development is located on a rural site immediately adjacent to the existing school. By using the largest Yorkon modules, the Portakabin Group will halve the number of units required for even greater efficiency. Each module will weigh up to 20 tonnes and will be manufactured off site in York.

The building for Pyrford Primary School will provide 16 classrooms and its design will significantly increase the external space and access for outdoor play and learning. It will also allow high levels of natural light to create a welcoming and bright internal environment for teaching.

Simon Ambler, director of the Portakabin Group, said: “We are delighted to be able to demonstrate our ability to deliver high quality, affordable school buildings to faster programmes to the benefit of children’s education. The opportunity for off-site construction to help transform the learning environment for thousands of pupils and their teachers under the Priority School Building Programme is immense.”

Kathryn Krynicki, Head Teacher at Pyrford Primary School, added: “We are looking forward to seeing our new building being manufactured in the factory in York soon and we can’t wait to have the facilities up and running for the start of the new academic year. The Portakabin Group has been brilliant and we have a strong relationship with the site team.”

As main contractor, the Portakabin Group will be responsible for all elements of this three-phase project including the off-site construction and fitting out of the main school building, construction of a multi-purpose hall, asbestos removal, demolition works, landscaping, and car parking.