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£6bn Investment to Rebuild and Improve Schools Across England
Edward Ng - February 9, 2015

Details of how more than £6 billion will be invested in schools across England have been unveiled by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Education Secretary Nicky Morgan.

Improving the standard of school buildings so that pupils learn in high quality classrooms and teachers have access to the best facilities is a vital part of the government’s long term plan for education and will help build a stronger economy and a fairer society.

Nick Clegg and Nicky Morgan confirmed today that around £2 billion will be invested in rebuilding or refurbishing buildings at 277 schools across England, under the second phase of the government’s flagship Priority School Building Programme. 260 schools are already benefiting under the first phase of the programme, bringing the total number to receive a revamp to 537. Schools including Whitmore Park Primary in Coventry, Ian Ramsey Secondary School in Stockton, and Garston Manor Special School in Watford are now open following multi-million pound rebuilds.

Thanks to the Priority School Building Programme, school buildings are being rebuilt faster and cheaper than those built under the previous school building initiative – Building Schools for the Future (BSF). Under the BSF it took 3 years for construction work to begin. This was slashed to 1 year for the Priority School Building Programme, with projects costing around a third less.

As well as this continued investment to improve school buildings in the worst state through the Priority School Building Programme, the government has also published today details of how over £4 billion will be allocated between 2015 and 2018 to schools, local authorities, academy trusts, and voluntary-aided partnerships to help them improve the condition of schools across the country.

This 3-year commitment will not only give those responsible for schools more certainty but – thanks to more accurate targeting – the funding is now being provided where it is needed most according to the size and condition of schools.

Announcing details of the major £6 billion funding investment, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:

“It is crucial that we invest properly in education, so that every child has a fair start in life. ​Thousands of pupils will benefit from better, brighter, warmer classrooms thanks to this ​funding.

Children can’t learn and teachers can’t teach in schools that are cold and have leaking roofs.

To create a stronger economy we have to invest in a fairer society so that our young people can be successful in the future.”