Sectors

Education

We have an extensive and wide ranging track record across the educational sector established over many decades. Our experts are leaders in the field and have provided teaching and learning environments and innovative accommodation solutions across the sector and around the world, surpassing expectations and driving down costs.

Mace has an impressive portfolio of projects within the education sector ranging from primary, secondary and special educational needs schools through to universities and entire campus developments.

Schools are under more pressure than ever before to meet the demand of increased numbers of pupils requiring a school place. In the UK, this challenge has been partially addressed in primary schools with the need now switching to the secondary sector, which brings the challenge of delivering more specialist accommodation. Alongside this is an ageing estate and a desire to make more cost effective and sustainable buildings. Around the world our clients are facing similar challenges - delivering more school places in buildings that not only encourage learning, but help pupils to thrive and meet their potential.

The higher education sector is equally under more pressure than ever before. Students are demanding ever higher standards from facilities, and estate directors are working to rationalise, expand and improve facilities with reduced capital funding, at the same time as collaborating to create shared facilities for world class research.

Meeting tomorrow’s targets, today, with better quality solutions at less cost is also vital for our clients. Reducing energy use and carbon emissions is firmly on the agenda of the sector.

The opportunity lies in implementing strategic change, realising potential through refurbishment and taking advantage of the benefits of renewable energy. The most successful institutions are those that are willing to go the furthest in terms of finding creative solutions.

Contact us

  • Rob Faulkner

    Schools and Further Education UK Sector Lead, Consultancy, UK & Europe
    Email
  • Rob Lemming

    Managing Director Public Sector and Life Sciences, Construction

What we offer

We appreciate the challenges facing those in the education sector managing a range of complexity across projects including diverse stakeholders, budgetary pressures and resource constraints. We assist our clients to deliver top-class facilities that enhance their long-term educational and research capabilities.

why mace?

Experience

With a depth of experience in the sector we help central government, local authorities, academy trusts, universities and educational providers to drive value from their capital investments by offering a full range of integrated services including programme and project management, construction delivery, cost consultancy, facilities management and an additional architectural and engineering design service.

Meeting pupil place demands

With a growing pupil place requirement in the UK, there is an increased pressure on the existing estate to provide sufficient teaching spaces. School providers look for more creativity which may result in utilising existing facilities or solutions to create additional forms of entry, without incurring expensive building regulation costs.

We've formed long-term relationships with many educational authorities who trust us to partner on wide scale capital investment programmes. Partnering with Croydon Council, we have provided programme management to deliver over 80 projects, creating a capacity of 25 new classes across the borough. We are currently helping Southwark Council to deliver their primary school expansion programme to deliver 2,500 new places across the borough.

Support throughout the process

At Mace we know that you are working with complex and diverse stakeholders, budgetary pressures and resource constraints. Our people can provide you with the support you need, sitting alongside your in-house team as your delivery partner to develop solutions with you and move swiftly to implementation.

Delivering for every stage of education

We are working in collaboration with the UK's Education Funding Agency on both the Free Schools and Priority School Building programmes, finding innovative refurbishment and remodelling solutions to deliver hundreds of schools across the country.

We have also delivered projects around the world, from the iconic Evelyn Grace Academy and St Paul's School in London, to Abu Dhabi University’s campus, a 42,000sq m building for 15,000 students.

From the drawing board to construction delivery

In the preconstruction phase we lead stakeholder engagement, managing the production of clear briefs and realistic cost plans that provide the best opportunities to maximise budgets and ensure value for money. And as a major contractor, we are able to bring a unique perspective to any project, leading the design team to deliver innovative preconstruction and logistics advice. We provide robust project and cost management services using proven tools tailored to meet each client’s needs. We consistently seek and deliver innovative solutions, enabling us to make a positive difference at each stage of your project while creating long lasting and effective relationships.

Building state-of-the-art facilities

Many of our education and research clients demand prestigious cutting edge facilities, to attract funding, foster top-class learning and world class leading academics. We have delivered over £100 million worth of complex and high-worth projects with King's College London since 2007 across the university’s five London campuses. As well as delivering on time and on budget, our work achieved an excellent BREEAM rating through energy saving initiatives. We also have a long standing relationship with Brunel and are helping to deliver University College London's £1bn development masterplan. We have worked across sites with ACS International Schools to deliver four campuses - three in Greater London in Cobham, Egham, Hillingdon, and one in Doha, Qatar.

“We want to create a world-class educational environment for our young people. Our way of working places the schools, parents and communities at its heart and this model is now being used across the region. It is testament to the good relationships we have developed with our private sectors partners.”

“Thanks must go to all of the Mace team members who have worked together to achieve this outstanding result. ”

“Mace managed the project excellently and the relationship between the contractor, the client - us, and Mace was very good. Lines of communication were clear and the project ran to time and exceeded our expectations, as it was funded for a refurbishment but we got a school that feels like a brand new school and indeed much of it is.”