---
title: "Orbital South Colleges Catering Services: East Surrey College & John Ruskin College"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-07958f"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07958f"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07958f.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07958f.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "East Surrey College"
published: "2026-11-02"
---

# Orbital South Colleges Catering Services: East Surrey College & John Ruskin College

Buyer: East Surrey College  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-07958f

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## Summary

East Surrey College is seeking a catering contractor for East Surrey College and John Ruskin College, part of Orbital South Colleges. The service is to provide meals for students, staff and visitors, with an emphasis on healthy, competitively priced food, authentic recipes and ingredients, and good value. The colleges also want food education and sustainability initiatives, alongside service development and innovation. Catering services include school catering (CPV 55524000). Delivery is in Surrey, serving the two colleges; the wider group also includes Reigate School of Art and Orbital South Colleges University Centre, but this contract is for East Surrey College and John Ruskin College.

The buyer invited offers through a two-stage competitive flexible procedure: suppliers first complete a Procurement Specific Questionnaire, after which shortlisted suppliers are invited to tender. The enquiry deadline was 22 November 2026 at 12:00, and the deadline for expressions of interest and PSQ submissions was 27 November 2026 at 12:00. The award decision was due by 15 February 2027. The contract runs from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2030, with two possible one-year extensions, giving a maximum period to 31 March 2032. The estimated contract value is £1.9 million. There is one lot. Evaluation weights are quality 60%, cost 30%, and clarifications and presentations 10%.

This opportunity suits a catering operator able to run services across multiple education sites and serve students, staff and visitors. The buyer seeks healthy, competitively priced meals that offer value, with authentic recipes and ingredients. Suppliers should be able to develop the service proactively, suggest practical improvements and bring ideas for food education and sustainability. Experience in similar large, multi-site education catering operations is preferable. TUPE applies, so bidders should be prepared to address the transfer of affected staff as part of taking on the service. The stated priorities favour operators with the operational capacity to sustain day-to-day catering across both colleges while maintaining food quality and improving the offer over time.

## Notice

Orbital South Colleges (OSC) is a leading further education group comprising East Surrey College, John Ruskin College, Reigate School of Art and Orbital South Colleges University Centre. The Colleges provide an extensive range of vocational, technical and professional education, from entry level through to degree-level study, including apprenticeships, Higher National qualifications and professional courses. Teaching is delivered by experienced, industry-qualified staff and is supported by strong links with employers, careers services and local communities. OSC is undertaking this tender exercise to source a flexible and best value catering contractor with whom they can partner with to achieve service excellence through the provision of a great tasting food, made with authentic recipes and ingredients. Healthy eating, service innovation and added value through food education and sustainability initiatives are equally as important. The successful contractor is to provide healthy and competitively priced meals for all students, staff and visitors, and always ensure that the outcome will provide best value to the Colleges. OSC is seeking a contractor who has a proactive approach to service development and innovation and will propose practical enhancements to the services as well as innovative ideas to develop and improve the services for all stakeholders. The contract being tendered for is to start from 1st April 2027 for an initial three-year term with the option to extend for up to two further one-year periods. Experience of similar large education-based multi-site operations is preferable. TUPE will apply.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Up to 24 months on a +1 year +1 year basis

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/103717-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive flexible procedure |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 2 Nov 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Apr 2027 - 31 Mar 2030 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £1,900,000 |
| Lots value | £1,900,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Active |
| Lots status | Active |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | East Surrey College |
| Locality | REDHILL |
| Postcode area | Redhill |
| Postcode | RH1 2JX |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ2 Surrey, East and West Sussex |
| ITL 3 | TLJ26 East Surrey |
| Local authority | Reigate and Banstead |
| Electoral ward | Redhill East |
| Westminster constituency | Reigate |
| Delivery location | TLJ2 Surrey, East and West Sussex |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 55 - Hotel, restaurant and retail trade services

### Codes

- 55523000 - Catering services for other enterprises or other institutions
- 55524000 - School catering services

## Release History

- 2 Nov 2026 at 12:57 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/103717-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/103717-2026
  2nd November 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/qr0adwh9llxtndb1rfdbl/AO7Vk6d7ITRf-rqbiBO7gJA?rlkey=wvszmkc62ljpd9ldwdy69gi7d&st=oysr9dfs&dl=0
  Interested parties are to complete a Procurement Specific Questionnaire (PSQ), which can be accessed via the dropbox link provided. If you have any queries, please contact tenders@panacheconsultancy.co.uk

## Notice URLs

- http://www.panacheconsultancy.co.uk
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.panacheconsultancy.co.uk

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-07958f. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-07958f.json.