New
research from Scape Group, the
public sector procurement specialist, has revealed that an additional 435,646
pupils will be joining the UK’s secondary school system in 2020, which would
require over 14,500 additional secondary classrooms across the country.
Scape’s
report, The Secondary School Places Challenge, looked at the challenge facing
the secondary school system across the UK using Department of Education and
devolved authority data.
It
shows the equivalent of 14,522 secondary school classrooms would need to be
built over the next three years to ensure we have enough school places, which
would equate to over 400 brand new 1,050 pupil secondary schools across the
country.
Although
the greatest school building requirement will be in England (13,337
classrooms), 527 classrooms would also be required in Scotland, 340 in Wales
and 318 in Northern Ireland, to meet the projected growth in secondary school
pupils.
Mark
Robinson, Scape Group Chief Executive, comments: “Secondary school pupil
numbers are set to rise significantly and there is a real risk that if we do
not increase the output of new secondary school classrooms there will be
significant pressure on places across the UK.
"Such
is the scale of the projected increase in secondary school pupils that the
Government should now seek to develop a National School Building Strategy that
brings together the Department of Education, local and regional government, and
industry.
"We
must ensure there is a joined-up approach that embraces modern methods of
construction such as modular and offsite techniques, which can deliver schools
quickly and cost-effectively.”
London
will see the biggest increase in secondary school pupil numbers in the UK, with
the Capital set to experience a 15.5% rise by 2020. This is the equivalent of
2,500 classrooms, or 73 schools. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is
set to see an increase of 40% in secondary pupil numbers by 2020, the highest
in the country.
Outside
of London, Manchester City Council is forecast to see the biggest percentage
increase, with secondary school pupil numbers forecast to increase by 35% in
the next three years. This is the equivalent of 321 additional classrooms.
Scape Group’s
recommendations on how to tackle the School Places Challenge:
- A National School Building
Strategy should be created to bring together the Department of Education,
local authorities and the delivery marketplace.
- To maximise the value and
efficiency of secondary school sites, commissioning authorities should
seek opportunities to share new facilities, such as a local leisure
centre, community space or council building, with primary schools or the
wider community.
- Building schools of up to
three or four storeys to deliver maximum capacity, particularly on smaller
sites, without compromising on pupils’ learning experience.
- Adoption of offsite/modular
construction as the main method of construction for all school buildings
to allow them to be built at a faster rate compared to traditional
methods.
- Investment in school
extensions to significantly improve the cost and time it takes to create
additional school places.
- Schools
must be built first in major urban extensions and new developments to
ensure they will be able to meet the needs of future residents without
putting pressure on existing schools.
Mark
Robinson added: “The Government must view this situation as a priority - it is
critical that we do not fail our children by not providing enough new secondary
school places.
"As
primary school pupils move up the education system, an increased pressure is
being placed on local authorities to deliver new secondary schools in a short
timeframe.
"A
collaborative approach between public and private sectors and Local and Central
Government is key to bridging the school capacity gap – and a cohesive national
strategy on modular for new schools could go a long way in reducing the amount
of time it would take to provide areas with much-needed school places. However
there needs to be significant investment behind this for it to have the desired
effect.”
