Win an £80,000 30 pupil classroom

Sept. 27, 2012 - PRLog -- Clearspace Buildings has partnered with leading education magazine and website, TES (Times Educational Supplement), to give away an £80,000 school classroom – big enough for 30 students - through its Evolve Programme.

Open to all UK primary and secondary schools, the competition is being launched on Friday 21st September 2012 by Clearspace Buildings and TES. Entry is via either www.tes.co.uk/building or www.clearspacebuildings.co.uk/evolve  and schools are simply required to explain in no more than 300 words why their school deserves a new learning space. The closing date for the competition is Friday 20th November 2012.

Six shortlisted schools will be selected in December and, following a public vote, the winning school will be announced in January with construction of the stylish new building as early as Easter 2013.

As well as construction of the classroom Clearspace Buildings, a UK developer, designer, manufacturer and installer of timber frame and modular timber structures, will undertake all necessary planning and building permissions, groundwork and construction and internal finishing, including flooring, lighting and power points.

“We’ve been covering education in Britain for more than 100 years and organised many competitions for teachers, but we’ve never been involved in giving away a school building before,” said Gerard Kelly, TES editor.

“Schools can be squeezed for space, especially if they are popular or in areas with rising birth rates. But creating new classrooms can be incredibly hard as schools budgets are tightening, and planning and construction are often expensive,” he added.

Explaining the rationale behind the high value giveaway, Scott Horner, Managing Director of Northumberland-based Clearspace Buildings, said: “We’re hugely proud of the Evolve Programme. TES is the most widely read and subscribed website and magazine for teachers and schools and therefore the ultimate vehicle to promote this unique and timely classroom giveaway.”

The population boom has already pushed many primary schools to ‘breaking point’ and forced town halls to draw up emergency plans to teach children in disused shops and warehouses. Now figures from the Department for Education have shown the number of pupils in state schools is expected to rise to 7,950,000 by the end of the decade – 935,000 more than now.

This will mean that instead of one or two classes in each year group, there are plans for some schools to have up to six form groups in each year, which will leave many schools struggling for additional space.

Clearspace Buildings has created a ground-breaking range of beautiful Red Cedar Wood clad, permanent, quick to construct and cost-effective specifically targeted at schools. All buildings are specifically designed to suit a school’s needs and are multi-functional and adaptable.

Known as the Evolve Programme, the buildings are inspirational learning spaces designed to challenge traditional methods of creating additional classroom space - usually with grey, lifeless temporary buildings.

Unlike the traditional blue and grey temporary buildings, Clearspace Buildings’ FSC-certified timber-framed structures are stylishly designed with Western Red Cedar cladding and contemporary high performance powder-coated aluminium frame glazing. Inside, the buildings are light and airy with solid oak floors to create stimulating learning environments.

Bespoke designed and ranging in size from 50m² - 1500m², Clearspace Buildings’ structures are manufactured and designed in the UK and can be sited virtually anywhere and constructed on or off site where space is of a premium.

To cope with the accommodation demands for increased pupil numbers the Department for Education is relaxing building regulations so that new schools can occupy a smaller space - secondary schools by 15% and primary schools by 5%.

To enter the competition or learn more about Clearspace Buildings’ Evolve Programme visit www.clearspacebuildings.co.uk/evolve