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Three schools to be rebuilt in Walsall under £6bn scheme

Three schools in Walsall are to be rebuilt or refurbished under a £6 billion programme.

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Education secretary Nicky Morgan used a visit to the Black Country to double the number of schools receiving a major revamp.

The latest list of schools to get funding includes Blue Coat Church of England Academy in Walsall and Rivers Primary Academy in Blakenall.

Yew Tree Primary School, which comes under Sandwell Council, is also in line for funding.

However critics say the Priority Schools Building Programme still falls far short of the £55 billion Building Schools for the Future programme, which was scrapped by the coalition government soon after it came to office in 2010.

Nicky Morgan with little ones at Rivers Primary school

Mrs Morgan confirmed that around £2 billion will be invested in rebuilding or refurbishing buildings at 277 schools across England, under the second phase of PSBP. Around 260 schools are already being refurbished under the first phase of the programme, including 22 across the West Midlands, bringing the total number of schools to receive a revamp to 537 and 49 across the region.

This funding is on top of the £18 billion already invested in school buildings since 2010.

Mrs Morgan went to Rivers to pledge £2 million towards a complete rebuild.

The school has been on the site since 1949 and was chosen because teachers and education bosses stressed the need for the revamp.

Mrs Morgan said: "The learning environment is very important but the biggest factor is still the quality of teaching. We take investment in the education system very seriously."

Mrs Morgan said cancelling BSF had meant the government could reduce the costs of school rebuilds and refurbishment by a third and would mean more would benefit than before.

And she said that more would be done to increase the number of good and outstanding schools and to target those in special measures.

"If a school has the capacity to improve they will be supported in that.

"If not we can look for new leadership."

Rivers Primary Academy headteacher Jane King said: "We are going to be getting a completely new building.

"We have ideas of what we want to see in terms of a new library and computer room.

"The interior of the building we have at the moment does OK but it's outside that the need for this investment shows.

"It's in a really poor state of repair. We've had to shut an area off completely because of concrete falling away."

The building dates back to 1949. It was formerly Green Rock Primary School.

Labour accused the Conservatives of using the promise to boost their chances in the General Election. The school is in the marginal constituency of Walsall North, held by Labour's David Winnick.

Mr Winnick said: "It seems to me that this is a most crude form of electioneering, disguised as a ministerial visit.

"The suspension of BSF in 2010 meant that money that would have come to schools under a scheme approved by Labour was taken away."

Tom Watson, Labour's former campaign chief and MP for West Bromwich East, said: "Beware Tory ministers bearing gifts before an election.

Education secretary Nicky Morgan visits Rivers Primary school in Walsall

"The Black Country will never forget Mrs Morgan's predecessor Michael Gove targetting local school children five years ago for massive cuts.

"Nicky Morgan may think that visiting marginal seats with fewer than 90 days to the election and promising jam tomorrow is a winner but she needs to do her homework if she thinks this will be an easy one."

In 2010 Mr Watson had to retract remarks in in the Commons after bellowing across the chamber that Mr Gove was a 'miserable pipsqueak' for cancelling BSF.

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