Fewer than 300 schools to be rebuilt or refurbished
Michael Gove has announced that fewer than 300 schools will be rebuilt or refurbished as part of the government's Priority School Building Programme.
In today's written ministerial statement on the programme (which replaced Labour's Building Schools for the Future), Mr Gove said:
'Over the past two years we have allocated... £2.8bn for the maintenance of the school estate to meet the needs of maintained schools and academies. Over the spending review period, total capital investment will be over £17bn.
'In addition, last year I invited bids to a new programme from schools in need of urgent repair. 587 schools applied for the programme on the basis of their condition need. Today I can confirm that 261 schools will be rebuilt, or have their condition needs met through the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP)... Officials have today written to all schools who applied for the programme to confirm whether their application has been successful. Work will begin immediately and the first schools will be open in 2014.'
He added: 'I know that many schools will be disappointed not to be included in the programme. We have had to take difficult decisions in order to target spending on those schools that are in the worst condition.'
Schools in need of new buildings or refurbishment that have missed out on funding can still make improvements using the resources they have. Nusrat Faizullah explores how to revamp your school on a limited budget.
