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Thomas Mills High School ~ Catering Tender

Thomas Mills High School · compiled

Tender information last checkedLast checked 29 Sept 2026, 20:00.

Opportunity overview

Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form is a flourishing 11-18 high school situated in the historic town of Framlingham, Suffolk. We set high expectations of our pupils and, together with our well-qualified staff, this leads to excellent teaching and learning.

Awarded to

Amounts belong to published awards or contracts. Where several suppliers share one value, it is labelled as shared and is not a supplier-specific allocation.

Lunchtime Co Ltd

Match pending…
Contract value
£1.4m
Awarded
Not supplied
Contract signed
2 Apr 2025
Award ID
015336-2025-1
Status
active
Identifier
03452446
Location
Cambridge, UKH12, CB5 8UU, United Kingdom

Classification

  • CPV55524000 — School catering services

Lots

  • Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form is a flourishing 11-18 high school situated in the historic town of Framlingham, Suffolk. We set high expectations of our pupils and, together with our well-qualified staff, this leads to excellent teaching and learning. Pupils travel to the school from across east and central Suffolk, as well as south Norfolk, to experience an academic education of high quality. The school is presenting an exciting opportunity to partner with a Supplier who is able to deliver their vision of promoting the health and wellbeing of their circa 1030 pupils and 100 staff through the catering provision. Current catering sales revenue is around £300k per annum, but there is considerable upside thought possible with some potential investment in the catering infrastructure. The Client would like to see innovative delivery of emerging food trends that are seen on the high-street and in supermarkets that pupils frequent and therefore need to be reflective in the school dining environment. There is a need to maximise sales and uptake – this can be achieved by offering a dynamic and bespoke food offering at morning break and lunchtime. The ITT will investigate the addition of a breakfast service and the anticipated impact that this may make. The key areas of focus for the successful service provider will include; Fresh and innovative menus that are nutritionally balanced and appealing; The best use of local seasonal produce; Efficient and consistent speed of service with great customer interaction; Sustainable solutions for food packaging; Catering staff integration with the School community and support with Curriculum activities. Identifying and potential funding of appropriate additions to the existing offer notably in terms of potentially funding and sourcing a new 6th form/ teacher facing offer in the 6th form hub The Client expects the successful Supplier to evidence, through their bid, how they will deliver these focus areas. The existing team have resilience and consistency in day to day production, but in order to produce the innovative and dynamic food offer required they will need to be supported by an engaged operational team that can demonstrate and upskill menu content to provideservices that meet expectation. Aside from the food, the environment in which the pupils engage with the catering offer is adequate but lacks some definition and merchandising, so the catering partners will need to consider what the requirements are to drive the whole pupil experience in the dining hall and other service areas. With a contract start date of Summer 2025, the Supplier will need to consider how they will manage the mobilisation and launch the service in what should be an adequate mobilisation timetable. The Client is seeking a catering service partner that has the ability and appetite to work flexibly and with complete transparency to deliver an exceptional standard of service and take on the development of a loyal and dedicated team. The contract will be for an initial three year-term, (with likely potential for further extension), Litmus are in the process of concluding a consumer insight survey which looks in detail into current levels of satisfaction of the pupils of all ages and the staff, this data and insight report will feature in the ITT data for those shortlisted. The catering tender presents an exciting time for the School and the Client is looking forwardn to developing a successful partnership with a service provider demonstrating the right cultural fit as well as hunger and appetite continuous improvement. Additional information: Please note, this is a Contract Award Notice, this contract has already been awarded.£1.5m

Published notice details

Additional information from the published procurement release. Fields appear only when supplied by the source; check the original notice and tender documents before acting.

Scope, procedure and submissions

Id
ocds-h6vhtk-04aff6
Status
complete
Has Recurrence
No
Procurement Method
selective
Main Procurement Category
services
Procurement Method Details
Restricted procedure

Covered By

GPA

Legal basis

Id
32014L0024
Scheme
CELEX

Second Stage

Invitation Date
13 Jan 2025, 00:00

Tender Period

Ends
29 Nov 2024, 12:00

Contract terms

Has Electronic Payment
Yes
Has Electronic Ordering
Yes
Electronic Invoicing Policy
allowed

Classification

Id
55524000
Scheme
CPV
Description
School catering services

Submission terms

Languages

en

Submission Method

written

Lots and requirements

Entry 1
Id
1
Status
cancelled
Has Options
No
Has Renewal
No
Description
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form is a flourishing 11-18 high school situated in the historic town of Framlingham, Suffolk. We set high expectations of our pupils and, together with our well-qualified staff, this leads to excellent teaching and learning. Pupils travel to the school from across east and central Suffolk, as well as south Norfolk, to experience an academic education of high quality. The school is presenting an exciting opportunity to partner with a Supplier who is able to deliver their vision of promoting the health and wellbeing of their circa 1030 pupils and 100 staff through the catering provision. Current catering sales revenue is around £300k per annum, but there is considerable upside thought possible with some potential investment in the catering infrastructure. The Client would like to see innovative delivery of emerging food trends that are seen on the high-street and in supermarkets that pupils frequent and therefore need to be reflective in the school dining environment. There is a need to maximise sales and uptake – this can be achieved by offering a dynamic and bespoke food offering at morning break and lunchtime. The ITT will investigate the addition of a breakfast service and the anticipated impact that this may make. The key areas of focus for the successful service provider will include; Fresh and innovative menus that are nutritionally balanced and appealing; The best use of local seasonal produce; Efficient and consistent speed of service with great customer interaction; Sustainable solutions for food packaging; Catering staff integration with the School community and support with Curriculum activities. Identifying and potential funding of appropriate additions to the existing offer notably in terms of potentially funding and sourcing a new 6th form/ teacher facing offer in the 6th form hub The Client expects the successful Supplier to evidence, through their bid, how they will deliver these focus areas. The existing team have resilience and consistency in day to day production, but in order to produce the innovative and dynamic food offer required they will need to be supported by an engaged operational team that can demonstrate and upskill menu content to provideservices that meet expectation. Aside from the food, the environment in which the pupils engage with the catering offer is adequate but lacks some definition and merchandising, so the catering partners will need to consider what the requirements are to drive the whole pupil experience in the dining hall and other service areas. With a contract start date of Summer 2025, the Supplier will need to consider how they will manage the mobilisation and launch the service in what should be an adequate mobilisation timetable. The Client is seeking a catering service partner that has the ability and appetite to work flexibly and with complete transparency to deliver an exceptional standard of service and take on the development of a loyal and dedicated team. The contract will be for an initial three year-term, (with likely potential for further extension), Litmus are in the process of concluding a consumer insight survey which looks in detail into current levels of satisfaction of the pupils of all ages and the staff, this data and insight report will feature in the ITT data for those shortlisted. The catering tender presents an exciting time for the School and the Client is looking forwardn to developing a successful partnership with a service provider demonstrating the right cultural fit as well as hunger and appetite continuous improvement. Additional information: Please note, this is a Contract Award Notice, this contract has already been awarded.

Value

Amount
1,500,000
Currency
GBP

Second Stage

Maximum Candidates
10
Minimum Candidates
5

Award criteria

Criteria

Criterion 1
Name
Quality
Type
cost
Description
100

Contract period

Ends
31 Aug 2030, 23:59
Starts
1 Sept 2025, 00:00

Submission terms

Variant Policy
allowed

Selection criteria

Description
A minimum of 5 suppliers and a maximum of 10 suppliers will be taken forward to the tender stage of the process. Where less than 5 suppliers meet the minimum standards, only those that meet the minimum standards will be taken through to the tender stage. Where more than 5 suppliers meet the minimum standard , those suppliers with the highest scores will proceed to the tender stage.

Items and delivery

Item 1
Id
1
Related Lot
1

Delivery Location

Description
Suffolk

Delivery locations

Entry 1
Region
UKH14
Entry 2
Region
UKH14

Published documents

Entry 1
Id
economic
Document Type
economicSelectionCriteria
Entry 2
Id
technical
Document Type
technicalSelectionCriteria

Buyer, suppliers and contacts

Organisation 1
Id
GB-FTS-127803
Name
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form

Roles

buyer
reviewBody

Address

Region
UKH14
Locality
Framlingham
Postal Code
IP13 9HE
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form, Saxtead Road

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
BODY_PUBLIC
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Body governed by public law
Entry 2
Id
09
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Education

Identifier

Legal Name
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form

Contact

Telephone
+44 1276673880
Organisation 2
Id
GB-FTS-144230
Name
Thomas Mills High School

Roles

buyer

Address

Region
UKH14
Locality
Framlingham
Postal Code
IP13 9HE
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Saxtead Road

Details

Classifications

Entry 1
Id
BODY_PUBLIC
Scheme
TED_CA_TYPE
Description
Body governed by public law
Entry 2
Id
09
Scheme
COFOG
Description
Education

Identifier

Legal Name
Thomas Mills High School

Contact

Telephone
+44 1276673880
Organisation 3
Id
GB-FTS-144231
Name
Lunchtime Co Ltd

Roles

supplier

Address

Region
UKH12
Locality
Cambridge
Postal Code
CB5 8UU
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
10 Barnwell House, Barnwell Drive

Details

Scale
sme

Identifier

Id
03452446
Legal Name
Lunchtime Co Ltd
Organisation 4
Id
GB-FTS-144232
Name
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form

Roles

reviewBody

Address

Locality
Suffolk
Postal Code
IP13 9HE
Country Name
United Kingdom
Street Address
Saxtead Road, Framlingham

Identifier

Legal Name
Thomas Mills High School & Sixth Form

Award information

Award 1
Id
015336-2025-1
Status
active

Suppliers

Supplier 1
Id
GB-FTS-144231
Name
Lunchtime Co Ltd

Related lots

1

Contracts and changes

Entry 1
Id
015336-2025-1
Status
active
Award ID
015336-2025-1
Date Signed
3 Apr 2025, 00:00

Value

Amount
1,371,687.8
Currency
GBP

Recorded locations

  • Buyer location · Framlingham · UKH14 · IP13 9HE · United Kingdom
  • Delivery location · UKH14

Notice and amendment history

1 published notice version reviewed by ProcuraAxis.

1 VERSION
  1. ocds-h6vhtk-04aff6-2025-04-15T16:05:03+01:00compiled ·