Iconic vision for Oasis Academy Mayfield in Southampton

These are the first images of the £15m transformation of the first of the city’s two new academies, which moved a step closer today after a construction giant was chosen to design and build the new school.

Work could now begin on the massive rebuilding project to help improve education results by providing new facilities at Oasis Academy Mayfield as soon as October.

And the scheme will provide a welcome boost for local jobs, creating 40 work placements and 12 new apprenticeships.

Carillion beat construction rivals Balfour Beatty to become preferred bidder to overhaul the lower school site – formerly Grove Park School – in Sholing.

The firm will now also be invited to come up with plans for the £20m revamp of Oasis Lord’s Hill on the other side of the city.

Oasis Mayfield will be the first city school rebuilt under the guidance of Southampton’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) team. BSF could see up to seven city secondaries completely rebuilt or remodelled with £200m of Government cash, although, last week, the shadow schools minister refused to guarantee that the funding wouldn’t be axed if the Tories win the general election.

Chamberlayne College for the Arts, Upper Shirley High School, Sholing Technology College and St George’s Catholic School were all due to be totally rebuilt at a cost of £110m while Bitterne Park School was due for a massive makeover and additional buildings.

But Southampton’s schools bosses say the academy money is not under any threat, because it is coming through a separate scheme.

City education chief, Cllr Paul Holmes said: “The academy Carillion has promised us will be iconic.

“It will also contribute to our sustainability vision, being carbon neutral, and bring new apprenticeships, jobs and work placements to the city.

“Our academy and BSF programmes are a significant investment in Southampton’s schools and demonstrate our commitment to improving young people’s chances of achieving their potential.”

Aredi Pitsiaeli, Oasis Community Learning’s strategic development director, said: “We believe that the appointment of Carillion will provide a state-of-the-art building that will greatly enhance the learning opportunities for our students, as well as for the wider academy community.

“It was also invaluable to have some of our students involved in the consultation process – they had clear ideas on what was required and asked some insightful and searching questions of each developer.”