schoolfeasibility.co.uk

Feasibility study cost: primary, secondary, SEN, sixth-form, nursery

Authored by Oliver Wakefield-Smith, Founder of Digital Signet. Working from RIBA Plan of Work 2020, RICS NRM1, BB103/BB104 and ESFA CIF 2026-27 rules.

Feasibility study fees move with school type because BB103 mainstream area and BB104 SEN area drive scope days, survey breadth and acoustics. SEN runs the highest band; nursery the lowest. Every figure here is built from day-rate x scope-day with a BCIS regional factor.

Primary expansions (1FE to 2FE)

A 210-place to 420-place primary expansion typically lands at £18,500-£32,500 for Stage 0-2 with a multidisciplinary team. The BB103 driver is roughly 1,050m² of new gross internal floor area at 5.0m² per pupil for the additional 210 places, plus external works and FF&E [source: BB103, verified 2026-06-24]. Pupil-place delta scales the area schedule and the corresponding scope-day allocation.

Secondary refurbishment and rebuild

Secondary fees sit higher than primary at the same RIBA span because gross internal floor area is larger (BB103 secondary baseline 6.5m² per pupil), engineering services are more complex, and acoustics work is heavier. Stage 0-2 multidisciplinary fees commonly land at £22,000-£38,500. SRP-equivalent Stage 0-3 work where the trust appoints rather than the DfE can reach £42,000-£78,000.

SEN provision (BB104 driver)

SEN feasibility carries a 12-15% phase uplift over mainstream because BB104 area planning, sensory rooms, hygiene rooms, hoist tracking and accessibility scope add scope-days for the architect, M&E engineer and acoustics consultant. A 60-place SEN unit feasibility typically lands at £24,500-£41,500 for Stage 0-2 [source: BB104, verified 2026-06-24].

Sixth-form and post-16

Sixth-form fees broadly mirror secondary at the same scope; teaching-space layouts are simpler but specialist rooms (science, sports) carry their own area weighting. Stage 0-2 multidisciplinary feasibility commonly £20,000-£34,000.

Nursery provision

Nursery feasibility is the lowest band because gross area is small and engineering services are simpler. Stage 0-2 architect-led work commonly £8,500-£16,000; multidisciplinary adds £4,000-£7,000 depending on M&E scope.

Last reviewed against CIF 2026-27 round, RIBA POW 2020 and BB103/BB104 on 24 June 2026.