MEDIA

Bouygues UK has secured financial close of Quintin Kynaston Community Foundation School (QK) – a contract worth £30m.  QK is one of three schools that form part of the £41m Marlborough Hill Campus (MHC) redevelopment in St John’s Wood.  QK is a secondary school and is the tenth and final school in Westminster City Council’s Building Schools for the Future programme.

QK, George Eliot Primary School (GE) and Alternative Provision Centre (APC) are the three schools that will make up the 8.5 acre MHC redevelopment.  GE and APC are represented as a combined contract phase worth £11m and reached financial close in May this year.

George Eliot is currently divided into separate infant and junior school buildings but will be combined to become a single school site.  As with QK, the new building will be relocated to a different part of the site to where it currently stands; this is so that each part of the school can remain in operation with minimum disruption throughout construction of the new buildings.

The APC is the only school that doesn’t exist on the site. Currently operated across three separate buildings two of which are in Westminster, the APC services will be brought together in one purpose designed facility situated adjacent to the new George Eliot Primary School building.

Once construction of GE and APC is concluded work will commence on the new QK building.  Upon completion and migration of the school to their new building, the old building will be demolished and the remaining area will be remodelled to provide external sports facilities and landscaped social spaces to be shared across all three schools on the campus.

Bouygues UK’s Jonathon Clarke said:

“Quintin Kynaston signifies the final phase of this complex campus project which has required innovative design solutions throughout every aspect of the programme. We are really proud to have worked on such a challenging educational project which will significantly enhance the learning experience for teachers and pupils alike.”

Westminster City Council cabinet member for children and young people, Cllr Nickie Aiken, said: “We are extremely proud and excited about the plans for Quintin Kynaston, as well as the forthcoming works on George Eliot Primary School and the Alternative Provision Centre. The newly designed schools will provide pupils with state-of-the-art facilities and boost their learning potential as well as their pride in their respective schools.”

Works on QK are set to commence in December 2012 following the completion of George Eliot Primary School and Alternative Provision Centre.  The construction phase will take 34 months in total including demolition and landscaping, with completion scheduled for October 2015.