Academy deal closed in Southampton

Work will begin on Southampton's first Academy building project within a month after the city council closed a £15m deal with construction partner Carillion.

Financial close comes just ten months after the programme to rebuild the Oasis Community Learning Academies began. The £15m Oasis Academy Mayfield in Sholing is the first of two projects in the city worth a combined £35m.

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 quality and pace of our Academies programme demonstrates the importance we place on education in Southampton. We want our children and young people to have the very best facilities we can offer them. The new Academy will provide excellent learning environments for students and staff, as well as providing jobs for local people."

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 to suit a variety of performances. The building is not only iconic, it has also been designed with the environment 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 committed to create 12 new apprenticeships, 20 weeks of work experience for 16-year-olds and 20 weeks of work placement opportunities for adults and young people. In addition, they will also provide 150 donated hours to support the Academies' curriculum and commission 60 percent of their subcontractors from within 40 miles of Southampton.

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: www.oasisacademymayfield.org.

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 this scheme was submitted on Monday September 20.

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