Official UK procurement notice
Dartford Grammar School For Boys ~ Catering Tender
Authority: Dartford Grammar School For Boys (Education)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionDartford Grammar School was founded in 1576 and is one of the oldest schools in England. For nearly 450 years, Dartford Grammar School has enabled young people from Dartford and its surrounding area to achieve great things. Judged outstanding in every Ofsted inspection, and The Sunday Times State School of the Year in the South East (24/2025), Dartford Grammar School provides a broad, balanced international education, following the principles of the International Baccalaureate both in Key Stage 3 and the Sixth Form.
The tender project is seeking to appoint a Contractor whose initiative and innovation will be welcomed for the provision of service within the existing facilities for the 1544 students on roll and 164 teaching and support staff, with a focus on exciting new food concepts to satisfy a wide range of pupil tastes and dietary requirements. The School would wish the successful contractor to review the current range of services offered and make recommendations accordingly.
The contract being tendered is for three years in duration from 01/09/2026 to 31/08/2029 and will operate as a Guaranteed Performance Contract, with the successful Contractor offering the School a guaranteed return / cost per annum for the provision of catering services. Sovereignty of the cash tariff is to remain with Dartford Grammar School for the duration of this contract.
The School year is based on a calendar of 195 days. Between Five to Seven days are to be used for staff professional development which means that School will be open to receive students for a minimum of 187/190 days.
The contract offered covers the scope for the provision of all catering services within the School, which currently includes morning break, lunch, all hospitality and free issue requirements. Free School meals and hospitality will be charged based on consumption and at net food cost.
Whilst the School prioritises value for money as a key objective of the Competitive Tender Process, the Governing body is not obliged to accept the lowest price.
Please see PSQ Document for more information
- How the procedure runs: Please see PSQ Timetable for details for process on this tender
CPV: School catering services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1AwardedRenewalPublished value£3,230,110
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published sub-criteria (2)
- Criterion 1: 70%
- Criterion 2: 30%
Published award criteria (2)
- Criterion 1
- Criterion 2
- Price carries 30 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 3 points. The method statement decides this lot, not the discount.
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Competitive flexible procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 5 Dec 2025, 12:05 GMT
- Last source update
- 1 Jun 2026, 09:10 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 4 May 2026
- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-080100- Latest notice
- Contract award notice (UK6)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-05ef90Find a Tender
- How it runs
Please see PSQ Timetable for details for process on this tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- 6 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 2 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
Timeline
5 Dec 2025 → 1 Sept 2026 · 8 dates- Tender notice published321 days ago5 Dec 2025, 12:05 GMT
- Clarification questions by293 days ago2 Jan 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Submission deadline230 days ago6 Mar 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected by171 days ago4 May 2026, 23:59 BST
- Assessment summaries sent157 days ago19 May 2026, 00:00 BST
- Latest notice published143 days ago1 Jun 2026, 09:10 BST
- Standstill ends134 days ago10 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
- Contract starts52 days ago1 Sept 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 5 Dec 2025- Tender notice published5 Dec 2025, 12:05 GMTUK4
- Contract award notice published1 Jun 2026, 09:10 BSTUK6
- Status changed to complete1 Jun 2026, 09:10 BST
- Contract signature expected11 Jun 2026, 23:59 BSTscheduled
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Innovate Services1 Sept 2026 – 31 Aug 2029 · up to 31 Aug 2031Extensions: Please be advised that this contract will be let on a 3 + 2 years basis | £3,230,110 inc. VAT | 19 May 2026standstill to 10 Jun 2026 | Standstill |
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6final-stage tenders | 2 | 0 | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Innovate Services LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Contract award notice Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender