Having determined that three new secondary schools were needed to replace and augment existing facilities, Southampton City Council saw PFI as the route which would deliver the schools most efficiently and with the greatest value for money. Interserve Investments managed the Group’s bid and was successful in securing the contract, worth £37 million to Interserve Project Services in design and construction turnover and £25 million to Interserve Facilities Services over the contract’s 28-year lifetime.

Financial close was reached in October 2001. The next month our Facilities Services division began providing interim services at the existing schools while our Project Services division started the construction of the new buildings adjacent to these sites.

The first school to be completed, on schedule in April 2003, was the 900-place Redbridge Community School, which has been awarded specialist sports status. It offers state-of-the-art facilities and equipment including a new sports hall and gymnasium and first-class ICT rooms and learning areas. The school also has a dedicated Hearing- Impaired Unit for children with hearing difficulties.

The other two schools, Woodlands Community School (shown in the picture, 1,050 places) and Cantell School (1,300 places), also opened on schedule for the Autumn term 2003. We created classrooms, Learning Resource Centres, laboratories for Science, Design & Technology, Food Technology and Languages, offices, kitchen and dining facilities, gymnasia and sports halls, as well a  outdoor sports facilities including floodlit all-weather pitches.

All three schools have a wing serving the local community, including nurseries and crèches.

Once the new schools were open we began demolition of the old buildings and transferred operations from these to the new facilities, where we have responsibility for a broad range of services such as caretaking, cleaning, catering, building maintenance, grounds maintenance, energy services and security.

To read about the Cantell Official Opening click here

To read about the Redbridge Official Opening click here

To read about the Woodlands Official Opening click here

 Go to Case studies

 Go to Case studies