Contractor wins £8m job for free school in Brentry

Bam Construction has won an £8m job to build a free school in Bristol.

The contract for the Bristol Free School at Brentry, will see the firm carrying out refurbishment on existing buildings as well as the construction of new buildings.

The secondary school opened in former government offices last September and has applied to Bristol City Council to convert another office block and put up new buildings, including a sports hall.

If permission is granted, work is expected to start on site during July of this year and be completed by the end of April 2013.

The firm has been appointed the preferred contractor for a string of academies this year as part of the government’s fast-track academies framework.

A total of 71 fast-track academies will be built under the schools capital programme, announced by education secretary Michael Gove last year as a stop gap between the cancelled £55bn Building Schools for the Future Programme, and the government’s £2bn Priority Schools Building programme, which has been repeatedly delayed.