Education construction projects go to top of the class for new work

Education construction projects provide some of the most promising opportunities for new contracts in 2026.

Glenigan data shows that amongst the Top 100 contracts which are due to start this year, projects in the education sector are worth more than £250 million.

Activity in the sector is being driven by an upturn in work under the government’s School Rebuilding Programme and some significant new building projects on university campuses.

The brighter prospects in the sector are in keeping with the recent Glenigan Construction Industry Forecast 2026-27. Following a post-election slump in 2025, the value of underlying education sector starts is now predicted to increase by 15% this year and by a further 4% in 2026.

Rebuilding schools

The School Rebuilding Programme is set for a revival thanks to the £2 billion rise in the core schools budget made in the last Spending Review and a restatement of a pledge to rebuild more than 500 schools through the scheme.

Glenigan data highlights numerous new work opportunities under the programme where work is set to start this year.

For example, tenders have been returned, and work is set to start this summer on a £60 million school refurbishment/rebuild at The Mosslands School at Wallasey on Merseyside for the DfE (Project ID: 22267328).

Work is also due to start this summer on a £50 million redevelopment at The FitzWimarc School at Rayleigh in Essex under a 15-month programme (Project ID: 25444486).

Elsewhere in Harrow in North West London, construction is set to get underway this spring on a £71.5 million rebuild of St Gregory’s Catholic Science College, under the DfE 21 framework to rebuild schools (Project ID: 26004887).

The prospects for education-related work look bright in Scotland in the medium term. Glenigan data shows that the value of education sector underlying (under £100m) planning approvals north of the border rose to just over £600 million in 2025, up from around £430 million in the previous year.

Construction of a new school will start in Scotland later this autumn when work on the £138 million Whitegates Park secondary school gets underway at Lenzie near Glasgow (Project ID: 22078421).

Building on campus

New health and business facilities on university campuses are creating opportunities for work in the higher education sector.

Detailed plans have been approved, and construction is due to start early this year on a new £45 million teaching building at the University of East London’s Stratford Health Campus (pictured). Graham Construction is the design & build contractor on the scheme, which will involve almost 50,000 sq m of teaching space in a four-storey building with work set to run for 19 months (Project ID: 22196546).

In Belfast, detailed plans have also been granted for a new six-storey Centre for Digital Health Technology at the University of Ulster. Work on the £18 million scheme is due to start this spring and run for 39 months (Project ID: 24337646).

Construction is also due to start this spring on a new £14.3 million business school at the University of Hertfordshire’s Hatfield campus. Willmott Dixon Partnerships is the main contractor on the 14-month project, which will involve over 4,000 sq m of space (Project ID: 25036046).