You can find answers to frequently asked questions on Building Schools for the Future on this page.
What is the programme?
Background: The government is committed to spending £2.2 billion pounds per year over the next 15-20 years to replace, rebuild or renovate every secondary school in England.
Funding is awarded to local authorities in waves and selection is based on a variety of factors including levels of educational attainment; child poverty and deprivation; and ability to deliver a strategic programme.
Lewisham has been awarded £186m and is carrying out the most ambitious programme in the country.
This unprecedented cash injection will create state-of-the-art facilities to benefit all young people, teachers and the wider community. BSF is based on the premise that school buildings can improve educational standards and have a positive effect on everyone who uses them.
It is an opportunity to actively involve teachers, parents and pupils in creating the vision for the kind of school that they would like to experience - designing a 21st Century learning environment that meets their aspirations and raises levels of attainment.
By 2013 all of our secondary schools will have undergone a metamorphosis, beginning a new era of education provision which will benefit the whole community.
Teachers will have the educational environment in which they and their pupils can flourish and realise their potential. BSF will help Lewisham become ‘the best place to live, work and learn’.
What is it going to mean for my child? Why is BSF needed?
The programme will mean that all children and young people in Lewisham benefit from well designed and efficient, 21st Century secondary school buildings and facilities, and that we raise educational attainment for Lewisham children. Schools will also be able to make their enhanced facilities available to the wider community so more people can benefit.
What evidence is there that better facilities actually improve the standard of education?
The programme is based on the theory that while you may have good attainment in bad buildings and poor attainment in relatively good buildings, all pupils benefit from improved facilities and a modern learning environment. By delivering 21st Century schools we empower teachers to teach to the best of their ability and pupils are more motivated to learn in an environment which encourages engagement with learning.