School feasibility study cost calculator
A scope-and-fee builder for a UK school feasibility study. Every output is derived from day-rate x scope-day, factored by BCIS regional index, and cross-checked against published anchors. Workings are visible at the bottom of the panel.
CIF does not fund feasibility upfront; the fee must be carried by the trust until award, when reasonable pre-construction costs can be recovered through the CIF award. Treat as cashflow risk [source: CIF 2025-26 applicants' guide, verified 2026-06-24].
- Site survey package (topo, measured, condition, R&D2 asbestos)Basis: RICS measured-survey, HSG264, BB103/BB104
- Options appraisal (do-nothing / refurb / rebuild / hybrid)Basis: RIBA POW 2020 Stage 0-1, HMT Green Book
- BB103/BB104 area schedule against pupil-place targetBasis: BB103 mainstream area guidelines
- Cost Plan A (RICS NRM1) against BCIS ratesBasis: RICS NRM1, BCIS Q2 2026 location factors
- Feasibility programme and risk registerBasis: HMT Orange Book, Construction Playbook
This study is scoped at £17,750-£29,000 over 6-10 weeks, with CIF eligibility AMBER. CIF does not fund feasibility upfront; the fee must be carried by the trust until award, when reasonable pre-construction costs can be recovered through the CIF award. Treat as cashflow risk [source: CIF 2025-26 applicants' guide, verified 2026-06-24].
Workings
- Architect: 12 days x 1.00 pupil-scale x £650-£1100/day = £7,800-£13,200
- Quantity surveyor: 7 days x 1.00 pupil-scale x £700-£1150/day = £4,900-£8,050
- M&E engineer: 5 days x 1.00 pupil-scale x £750-£1200/day = £3,750-£6,000
- Building surveyor: 3 days x 1.00 pupil-scale x £600-£950/day = £1,800-£2,850
- Regional factor (east-midlands BCIS): x0.97
- Scope uplift: project 0% + phase 0% = x1.00
How the fee is built up
The model is the standard professional-services build-up that a chartered consultant would defend to a governing body: fee equals the sum of day-rate times scope-days for each discipline on the team, multiplied by a BCIS regional factor, with a project-type uplift (condition zero, expansion ten percent, net-zero retrofit twenty-five percent) and reductions if existing survey data is available or if a MAT framework absorbs procurement effort. RICS NRM1
- Architect: £650-£1,100 per day (chartered, project director down to project architect)
- Quantity surveyor: £700-£1,150 per day
- Mechanical & electrical engineer: £750-£1,200 per day
- Structural engineer: £700-£1,150 per day
- Planning consultant: £800-£1,300 per day
- Sustainability consultant: £750-£1,250 per day (Spec21 specialism at the top of the band)
- Building surveyor: £600-£950 per day
- Acoustics consultant: £700-£1,100 per day
Day rates are calibrated against the two published anchors (Extension Architecture small-scale band and the DfE Technical Advisor Services 2025 framework rate card) and against BCIS day-rate data for professional consultancy. BCIS
Worked example: 2FE primary expansion, Stage 0-2, multidisciplinary
A 2FE (420-place) primary school expansion in the East Midlands, with architect, QS, M&E and surveyor on the team, going to RIBA Stage 2 with a planning pre-app, lands as follows:
- Architect: 12 days x 1.05 pupil-scale x £650-£1,100 = £8,190-£13,860
- QS: 7 days x 1.05 x £700-£1,150 = £5,145-£8,453
- M&E: 5 days x 1.05 x £750-£1,200 = £3,938-£6,300
- Surveyor: 3 days x 1.05 x £600-£950 = £1,890-£2,993
- Subtotal: £19,163-£31,606
- Regional factor (East Midlands): x0.97
- Scope uplift: project 10% + phase 0% + pre-app 6% = x1.16
- Final: £21,557-£35,549 -> reported £21,500-£35,500
The number is defensible at a governors' meeting because every line carries its day-rate basis, its scope-day allocation and its uplift. The same arithmetic is reproduced in the Brief Template pages.