Decision details

To award a contract to GL Assessments utilising CPR 16.1 (e) for the provision of testing for Selective Schools in North Yorkshire.

The contract is for a period of 24 months from1st July 2020 to 30th June 2022 with an approximate value of £32k per annum.

*PLEASE NOTE This decision was originally published on or near the date of the decision and so call in no longer applies. It has been re-published as part of the change in committee management system that we use.*

Until recently, there were two schools on the scheme; Ermysted’s Grammar School (EGS) and Ripon Grammar School (RGS). Now, only Ripon Grammar School are on the scheme as Ermysted’s Grammar School are purchasing the testing themselves with no further input required from the Authority.

An agreement has been in place with GL Assessments (GLA) since 2013 for the provision of selection testing and administration. The original agreement ended on 30 April 2018 and was extended using Regulation 72(1) (e) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015, by a further 2 years on a 1 + 1 basis. This further extension ended on 30 April 2020.

Whilst Ripon Grammar School still plan to utilise the Authority with the school taking on more of the responsibility. It is also proposed that the school will purchase the testing via budget transfer from the Authority, negating the need for the Authority to undertake any procurement of testing for selective schools in future.

Before any changes can be formally made to the testing scheme, the school, supported by the local authority would be obligated to undertake a formal consultation. This has been delayed by the Covid-19 lockdown. As no changes can be made to the scheme without prior consultation and there is a need to continue purchasing the tests from GLA until such time that consultation on changes to the scheme has taken place.