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Typical competition: 4 bids
#h6vhtk-07746a
Published 17 Sept 2026, 13:39 BST
Official UK Procurement Procedure
Dartford Science and Technology College ~ Catering Tender
Authority:Dartford Science and Technology College(Education)
services
Competitive flexible procedure
Above threshold
WTO GPA (GPA)
SME suitable
Sectors:
CPV 55
Delivery:
Published estimate
£1,373,260
Submission deadline
5 Feb 2027, 12:00 GMT
Clarification Cut-Off
30 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
Contract duration
3 yrs (with extension options)
What is being bought & procurement scope
Procurement Scope & Specification
Executive Summary: Dartford Science and Technology College: "Dartford Science and Technology College ~ Catering Tender". Published status: active. Published value: £1,373,260. 1 published lot. Recorded submission deadline: 5 Feb 2027, 12:00 GMT. Published submission portal: litmustms.co.uk.
Official Requirement Description:
DSTC is a nurturing, engaging local authority maintained 11-18 school where students achieve well and flourish. DSTC is unique in Dartford as the only non-selective school for girls.In addition we have a coeducational Post 16. We pride ourselves on the excellent relationships between staff, students and parents. We are committed to providing enriched opportunities and experiences that promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths (STEM), while actively cultivating an ethos that values learning and ensures our students are safe, happy, and empowered to achieve. 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 860 students on roll and 101 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 1/8/2027 to 31/7/2030 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 Science and Technology College for the duration of this contract. The School year is based on a calendar of 195 days. Five days are to be used for staff professional development which means that School will be open to receive students for the legal minimum of 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.
For more information about this opportunity, please visit the eSourcing portal at:
https://litmustms.co.uk/tenders/UK-UK-Kent:-School-catering-services./FXPT3F6NM9
To respond to this opportunity, please click here:
https://litmustms.co.uk/respond/FXPT3F6NM9
Lots and requirements (1)
Procurement Structure
- Lot #1Lot 1activeRenewalPublished value£1,373,260The source published no individual title or description for this lot.Contract period:1 Aug 2027 — 31 Jul 2030 (3 yrs)Eligibility:SME eligibleTurnover benchmark:~£914,671/yrOptions / extension:3+2 Please see PSQ Document for more information.
Published award criteria & contract terms
From this notice
Only criteria and terms published on this notice. Conditions of participation in the tender pack are not inferred.
Evaluation weighting
Quality: 140
Price: 60
Published sub-criteria
- Criterion 1 — 70
- Criterion 1 — 70
- Criterion 2 — 30
- Criterion 2 — 30
Published terms
Contract duration3 yrs (with extension options)
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
Catering services (CPV 5552) in South East England — and who usually turns up
Dartford Science and Technology College has too little published record in this market to describe on its own; the South East England market stands beside whatever it has. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids.
1
How the contest usually goes
Left: this authority. Right: the market where the work is delivered. Bids and award-vs-estimate pairs are per lot, from contested contracts only — direct awards report one bid by definition and are left out. Empty means nothing was published, not filled in from elsewhere.
This authority
Dartford Science and Technology College
no contract notices in Catering services (CPV 5552) in 36 months
Dartford Science and Technology College has published no bid reports, no comparable estimate → award pairs and no award dates that this analysis can use — in Catering services (CPV 5552) (36 months) or across all categories (24 months).
The market · delivery region
South East England · Catering services (CPV 5552)
contract notices delivered in South East England in 36 months: 164 in CPV 5552 (160 contested) · 209 in division 55 (200 contested)
Bids per lot4CPV 5552 · 36m · n=91 lots
Single-bid lots3%CPV 5552 · 36m · n=91 lots
Award vs estimate15% aboveCPV 5552 · 36m · n=44 pairs
Deadline → award76dCPV 5552 · 36m · n=32 notices
SME bidders31%CPV 5552 · 36m · n=25 lots
Winners based in the region62%CPV 5552 · 36m · n=91 awards
robust · n=44 Awards in South East England (CPV 5552, n=44 pairs) land a median 15% above: on this notice’s £1,373,260 that is about £1,576,502, middle half £1,373,260–£1,827,809 (quartiles from South East England · CPV 5552). Context for a bid, not a recommended price.
Method and what to read with care
- Two columns, no blending. The authority column walks its own record only: notices in the 4-digit class, then the 2-digit division, then all categories (36 months, per lot, contested only), and as a last resort its 24-month row across all categories (per notice, every route). The market column is the notice’s primary delivery ITL1 × the same class, then division (36 months). Nothing is filled from the UK-wide class; an empty tile means the source published nothing usable.
- Per lot, contested only. Find a Tender publishes bid counts per lot; a seven-lot tender is seven contests. Procedures awarded without competition (limited / direct) are excluded from bids, price pairs and decision days — they report one bid by definition. Frameworks and DPS are a separate population from contracts (6–7 bids per lot against 2–4) and only the notice’s own kind is shown.
- Coverage. Roughly 40 % of notices publish a bid count; about half publish an ITL1 delivery location, so the market column reads the authority’s registered region when the notice has none (labelled). Award-vs-estimate pairs need a lot estimate, one active award on the lot, one canonical supplier and a gap under 60 %; about 30 % of pairs are exact matches (the buyer published the award at the estimate). n is on every figure; below 3 the tile is muted, never hidden.
- Pounds. The expected award applies the authority’s median movement (or the region’s, when the authority has fewer than 3 pairs) to this notice’s estimate; the middle half uses the region’s quartiles. A multi-lot notice publishes an envelope, so the movement is applied per lot, never to the total. A benchmark, not a recommended price.
- “Match” and “relevance” are model scores from the nightly matcher, not published facts. Find a Tender does not publish who is bidding. Never shown: contact details, payment behaviour, or a recommended price.
Procedure terms & legal framework
| Procedure method | Competitive flexible procedure | Legal basis | UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023 | Procurement category | services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notice status | Open for tender | Procurement threshold | Above threshold (FTS publication) | Regulatory regime | Standard commercial regime |
| Commercial structure | Stand-alone contract (No framework) | Competition type | Competitive procedure | GPA WTO covered | {"GPA"} |
| Recurring procurement | No (One-off requirement) | First published | 17 Sept 2026, 13:39 BST | Last source update | 17 Sept 2026, 13:39 BST |
| Award evaluation window | Submission end — 29 Mar 2027, 23:59 BST | Classification (CPV) | School catering services | ||
| Delivery area | |||||
| Official Registry OCID | ocds-h6vhtk-07746a | ||||
How to participate & submission route
Authorized E-Sourcing Portal
Litmus TMS
Supplier login required
Online submission allowed
Language: EN
Access & Registration note: Free
| Expression of interest (EOI) | — | Tender submission deadline | 5 Feb 2027, 12:00 GMT | Clarification deadline | 30 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submission channel | Official e-sourcing portal | Electronic submission | Allowed | Accepted languages | en |
| Participation fee | Free of charge (Open access) | ||||
Detailed Submission Instructions & Authority Contacts
Timeline
- Procedure published
17 Sept 2026, 13:39 BST - Clarification deadline
30 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT - Submission deadline
5 Feb 2027, 12:00 GMT
Commercial outcome and contract awards
Awards (0)No award published |
Contracts (0)No contract published |
Bid statisticsNo aggregate bid statistics published |
Notice history
1 lines · 1 source events
- Official notice release published
17 Sept 2026, 13:39 BST
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dartford Science and Technology College
Contracting authority
Education
Official Documents & Specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copied
- 17 Sept 2026, 13:39 BST