A LEADING York firm has won contracts worth £8.2 million to rebuild two schools.

Off-site construction specialist the Portakabin Group has been awarded contracts by the Department for Education for St Bede’s Church of England Junior School in Woking and Riverview Church of England Primary School in Epsom.

The projects are part of the Government’s Priority School Building Programme (PSBP), aimed at addressing the needs of schools in the worst condition across the country.

Both buildings will be manufactured off site at the Portakabin Group’s production centre in York using Yorkon advanced off-site construction solutions, which will cut the build programme by half and reduce disruption during construction.

Steve Newell, the group's general manager, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be appointed main contractor for these two projects. The opportunity for off-site construction to help the Department for Education improve the standard of school buildings across the UK is immense, as these projects will demonstrate.

“Our aim is to deliver education facilities of the very highest standards which are affordable, much faster to build and that radically reduce disruption to teaching during construction. We are also making excellent use of best practice architectural design and advanced construction technology, to create fantastic new buildings for current and future generations.”

Each school will have state-of-the-art education facilities to replace sub-standard accommodation in poor condition. The designs will maximise natural light and ventilation, and feature two two-storey classroom wings.

Due for completion in time for the start of the 2016/17 academic year, Riverview School will have eight classrooms for its 210 pupils and a large double-height dining and sports hall.

St Bede’s School accommodates 240 children aged between seven and 11. Its original school building dates back to the 1930s and is now in a seriously deteriorating state. The new teaching facilities will include eight classrooms, a multi-purpose hall, and new hard and soft play areas.

Following completion and occupation, both of the original school buildings will then be safely demolished by the Portakabin Group.

The group announced last month that it had fitted the final modules on a £5.6 million school project, also in Woking.

It was replacing classrooms at Pyrford Primary School to cater for nearly 500 children, again as part of the PSBP.

Yorkon school-building solutions can cut programme times to allow early occupation; reduce disruption to teaching during construction, particularly when working on fully operational school sites; fit almost any building footprint, saving on design time and resources; and include columns which are not visible internally or externally for seamless facades which can specified as either with or without cladding.

For information about Yorkon off-site building solutions for primary and secondary education, phone 0845 2000 123, email info@yorkon.co.uk or visit www.yorkon.co.uk