Financial close has been reached by Wates Construction and the Education Funding Agency (EFA) on the £22.8 million Little Ilford School in Newham.

The school is the first in the Barking, Dagenham and Newham batch of the Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP).

The development, designed by CPMG, will include a 10,703 sq m four-storey secondary education facility that will see the school increase its capacity from 1,350 to 1525 for students aged 11 to 16-years-old.

Features include a sports hall extension and a multi-use games area (MUGA).


Completion of the project is scheduled for December 2016, following which the former school building will be demolished and replaced with external landscaping.

The new school has been designed utilising Wates' Adapt Schools Solutions model, a standardised solution that facilitates the time and cost efficient delivery of new school buildings.

The contract forms part of the EFA's £78 million batch of schools being delivered under the PSBP.

Other schools include Eastbrook School in Dagenham and Eastbury School in Barking.

Wates was appointed as main contractor in January this year.

Since the EFA's launch of the capitally funded PSBP, Wates will deliver over £100 million of new and refurbished school buildings on behalf of the EFA, including schools in Coventry, the North West and East of England.

Ian Vickers, Managing Director for Wates Construction, Home Counties said: "This project will once again showcase our commitment to delivering high quality educational facilities under the Priority Schools Building Programme."

(LM/CD)