The UK Department for Education has received final bids from the three shortlisted bidders for the fourth batch of privately financed schools in the country under the PF2 model, the Yorkshire batch.

Three companies were shortlisted in early April this year:

• Laing O'Rourke,
• Bam Construction and
• Morgan Sindall

The contract winner will design, build, finance and maintain the schools. Construction is due to start from November and will continue to March 2015, with planned completions due for August 2016. This will be followed by a 25 year operational term. The project cost is estimated at £97 million (US$162 million). 

The PSBP Yorkshire private finance batch comprises 7 secondary schools.

• All Saints Catholic College, Huddersfield;
• Belle Vue Boys' School, Bradford;
• Carlton Bolling College, Bradford;
• Harrogate High School, Harrogate;
• Oakbank School, Keighley;
• Samuel Lister Academy, Bradford;
• Whitcliffe Mount Business and Enterprise College, Huddersfield.

In July this year the UK Education Funding Agency announced that the Amber Infrastructure & International Public Partnerships Limited (INPP) consortium had been chosen as the selected bidder to fund the five batches of schools being delivered through the Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP).

The Priority School Building Programme is a centrally managed government programme set up to address the needs of the schools most in need of urgent repair. Through the programme, 261 schools will be rebuilt or have their condition needs met by the Education Funding Agency (EFA).