Sorrell Foundation hosts school building programme review

The Sorrell Foundation charity will tomorrow host a dialogue between children, designers and Government representatives to decide what will happen to at least 70 schools as part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, an initiative allocated £2.85bn this year alone.

At the event, which takes place at the Bridge Gallery in London, SW1, Schools Minister Jim Knight will receive briefs from the 70 schools – the result of a long consultation period overseen by the Sorrell Foundation – and field questions from pupils.

The Sorrell Foundation director Sharon Plant says, ‘We want pupils to be part of the debate, rather than recipients.’

Six children will speak at the event and present their briefs, having gone through the consultation process with their own schools. They will form part of an advisory board set up by the foundation.

The Sorrell Foundation has been working with schools, supported by the Department for Children Schools and Families, on Building Schools for Future since last year.

At schools across the country, headteachers pick pupils to work with The Sorrell Foundation within their establishments and at The Sorrell Foundation Young Design Centre at Somerset House in London. Plant says they consider sustainability, social space, learning space and inclusion, among other issues.