Planning

Student Information System of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

THE MAYOR AND COMMONALTY AND CITIZENS OF THE CITY OF LONDON

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

29 Oct 2025 at 11:01

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process is currently in the planning stage and is being organised by The Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London. They are seeking input for the improvement of the Student Information System (SIS) of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD), a prestigious institution within the City of London Corporation. The contracting process falls under the category of educational software development services, specifically aimed at enhancing the student lifecycle management across aspects like admissions, enrolment, and graduation. As part of the preliminary market engagement, stakeholders are invited to provide insights via a questionnaire by noon on 13 November 2025, with potential follow-up meetings or workshops to explore market capabilities further. The contract is expected to commence on 1 May 2026 and will run for four years, ending on 30 April 2030.

This tender presents significant possibilities for businesses specialising in educational software development, particularly those with innovative solutions that can enhance digital transformation strategies in higher education institutions. Companies offering cloud-based SIS solutions, with capabilities such as curriculum management and interoperability via APIs, are well-suited to contribute valuable insights during the planning stage. By participating, businesses have the opportunity to shape the procurement strategy and propose competitive, scalable, and robust solutions that align with the goals of GSMD and the City of London Corporation, ensuring long-term institutional value and sector leadership.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Student Information System of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

Notice Description

Guildhall School of Music & Drama (GSMD), recognised as one of the world's leading conservatoires and a key institution within the City of London Corporation, currently utilises a Student Information System (SIS) to manage the entire student lifecycle from admissions and enrolment through to assessment, progression, and graduation. While this system has provided a solid foundation for both academic and administrative operations over several years, GSMD is now reassessing its long-term SIS strategy in response to sector developments, digital transformation ambitions, and the evolving needs of students and staff. This Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) and Soft Market Testing (SMT) exercise aims to explore the current market landscape for higher education SIS solutions, including the latest offerings and alternative suppliers. The objective is to inform an options appraisal that will guide GSMD's future procurement approach, ensuring any subsequent tender is both feasible and aligned with the School's strategic direction. The City of London Corporation and GSMD seek to: * Identify innovative, robust, and cost-effective SIS solutions that support GSMD's digital transformation and sector best practice. * Gather insights on deployment models, interoperability, user experience, compliance, and support arrangements. * Inform an options appraisal and procurement strategy that delivers long-term value for students, staff, and the institution. * Mitigate the risk of launching an unachievable or misaligned procurement by understanding market capabilities, indicative pricing, and implementation approaches. Through this process, GSMD is particularly interested in: * Cloud-based models (SaaS or managed service) * Core SIS capabilities: admissions, enrolment, curriculum management, timetabling, assessment, progression, graduation, and reporting * Interoperability via APIs or integration with systems .

Planning Information

PME in this case is where City Corporation, at an early stage in development of its proposals but prior to formulating any formal procurement opportunity, seeks input from the market as to what might be the most attractive way of packaging and scoping a future procurement opportunity. This exercise will provide an opportunity for City Corporation to obtain insight into how participants might approach the delivery of the service in question. It also gives useful early insight into the likely level of interest in a proposed project from that market. Invited participants will not be prejudiced by any response or failure to respond to the soft market testing or failure to attend any follow up face-to-face interviews that may be arranged. Participants must also note that a response to this notice does not guarantee an invitation to participate in this or any future procurement that City Corporation may conduct, nor that City Corporation will procure any such supply and services or accepts any proposals offered. City Corporation has developed a questionnaire (attached to the portal advert) that they would like interested parties to complete; interested participants MAY then be invited to meet with the project team to discuss in more detail the options. As stated above, the outcome of the PME exercise will inform our procurement options appraisal with recommendations. Further detailed reports will be prepared as appropriate in accordance with the City Corporation’s tender and approval procedures, and in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2023. This SMT will comprise: • Submission of the SMT Questionnaire - your questionnaire must be received by the deadline. • Any individual Supplier Meetings (if applicable) will be based on the questions and responses contained within the SMT Questionnaire. The City might invite market operators who submit the SMT Questionnaires to meetings and/or workshops, the City will advise if this will be the case. Questionnaire must be returned by via the City of London Corporation Sourcing and Contracts portal https://cityoflondon.ukp.app.jaggaer.com/ by 12:00 Noon on 13 November 2025

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05d5fa
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/069270-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

72212190 - Educational software development services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
29 Oct 20253 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
13 Nov 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
30 Apr 2026 - 30 Apr 2030 4-5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
THE MAYOR AND COMMONALTY AND CITIZENS OF THE CITY OF LONDON
Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
cityproc.operations@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Contact Phone
020 7606 3030

Buyer Location

Locality
CITY OF LONDON
Postcode
EC2P 2EJ
Post Town
Central London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI43 Haringey and Islington
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Islington
Electoral Ward
Clerkenwell
Westminster Constituency
Islington South and Finsbury

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

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