Interserve awarded three school contracts worth £42m

The company will carry out a 23m improvement programme for Farnley Park High School in Leeds along with 11m of schools extensions in the Nottinghamshire Construction Framework; and an 8m contract to increase the capacity of four schools for Coventry City Coun- cil.

Work started on the Farnley Park site earlier this month with a sod cutting ceremony and is due to complete in July 2012.

The BSF investment, secured before the coalition Government scrapped the programme, will transform Farnley Park into a school offering modern facilities, open learning areas, office space, a new school entrance, sports facilities including a hydrotherapy pool, activity studios, dining hall and drama facilities.

There will also be purpose-built facilities which will allow up to 30 pupils from the West Specialist Inclusive Learning Centre to access learning in a mainstream setting.

Adrian Ringrose, Interserve's chief executive, said: "It is very rewarding to be responsible for delivering projects such as these that will benefit not just the pupils themselves but also many members of the local community."

The school recently achieved a Specialist Mathematics and Computing College status. Facilities will be available for use as they are finished from February 2012.

The work is being carried out as part of a 260m Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which will rebuild or refurbish 13 secondary schools in Leeds.

Allerton High, Pudsey Grangefield, Rodillian, Cockburn, Temple Moor, Allerton Grange High, Swallow Hill, Crawshaw, Farnley Park, Priesthorpe, Corpus Christi, Mount St Mary's and Parklands Girls' High will all benefit from the investment once the project is completed.