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Cheam High School and Oaks Park High School Catering

Cheam Academies Network

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

07 Sep 2026 at 10:02

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

17 Jun 2026 at 14:32

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

05 Feb 2026 at 15:22

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Cheam Academies Network procured school catering services for Cheam High School and Oaks Park High School, both secondary schools in the London Borough of Sutton. The requirement covers the professional operation of catering across the two schools, including high-quality food, service enhancements, achievable sales performance and ongoing support for the school community. The buyer is Cheam Academies Network, with Cohesion Consulting Ltd managing the procurement. The awarded supplier is Accent Catering Ltd. This is a services contract focused on education catering rather than construction, facilities management or general food supply. Delivery is centred on the two named schools in Sutton, serving their pupils and wider school communities.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to Accent Catering Ltd on 17 June 2026 after a two-stage competitive flexible procedure under the light-touch regime. Three bids reached the final stage, including three from SMEs. The contract was signed on 1 September 2026 and runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 July 2029, with two possible one-year extensions subject to performance and client approval; the maximum extent is 30 July 2031. The awarded value is £3,691,295 excluding VAT, or £4,429,554 including VAT. The original projected five-year turnover was £5.2 million excluding VAT. Evaluation included price, with detailed criteria set out in the tender documents, and performance is monitored through service-quality KPIs.

This procurement shows demand from a multi-school academy trust for a sizeable, professionally managed education catering operation. A credible competitor would need experience delivering catering in secondary-school settings, consistently high food and service standards, and the operational capacity to support two schools as one service. The requirement also favours suppliers able to design and deliver practical service enhancements, set and achieve realistic sales targets, and provide sustained account management and support to pupils, staff and the wider school community. Strong performance reporting would be important, including evidence against service-quality KPIs and the ability to respond to termly and annual reviews. Suppliers proposing investment would need to align those proposals with Department for Education guidance.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Cheam High School and Oaks Park High School Catering

Notice Description

Cheam High School and Oaks Park High School, part of the Cheam Academies Network Trust, are successful secondary schools in the London Borough of Sutton. The Trust is tendering its catering services for the two schools with a contract start date of 1st August 2026. The initial term will run for three years, ending on 31st July 2029, with a requirement for termly and annual reviews and a break clause to support both parties should the relationship not prosper. There will be an option to extend for up to two further years (1+1) by mutual agreement, based on qualitative and financial performance. The current contract with Harrison Catering has reached the maximum tenure of five years. The Trust is seeking a professional catering contractor who can deliver an excellent level of service, high-quality food and service enhancements, realistic and achievable sales targets and ongoing support to the School community throughout the contract. The projected turnover for the five-year contract is expected to be circa PS5.2 million. The School is running this procurement as a Competitive Flexible, Two Stage, Light Touch Regime, Open Tender Process. To declare your interest in the tender and download contract documents (available free of charge), please register on https://in-tendhost.co.uk/cohesionconsulting/aspx/Home Once registered, please declare interest in the opportunity to access and download the full document set. In short, the Trust needs to be convinced that bidders can deliver their promises in full, achieve their sales projections, and meet their service enhancements. If the School is not convinced of this, it reserves the right to consider an insourced solution or make no award. Any investment proposals must align with DFE guidelines.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: There will be an option to extend for up to two further years (1+1) by mutual agreement, based on qualitative and financial performance. The current contract with Harrison Catering has reached the maximum tenure of five years.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-064931
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084225-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

CPV Codes

55524000 - School catering services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£5,200,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£5,200,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£3,691,295 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
£3,691,295 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Sep 20264 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
17 Jun 20263 months ago
Contract Period
1 Sep 2026 - 31 Jul 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Cheam Academies Network
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CHEAM
Postcode
SM3 8PW
Postcode Area
Sutton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI6 Outer London - South
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI63 Merton, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Sutton
Electoral Ward
Cheam
Westminster Constituency
Sutton and Cheam

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Accent Catering

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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