Schools across Black Country and Staffordshire get share of £83m revamp fund

The Department for Education cash has been pledged to improve decrepit facilities, remove asbestos and extend existing buildings.

Hundreds of schools in the West Midlands will get £83.5m, with 48 schools in the Black Country and Staffordshire set to benefit.

The funding is part of £514m being allocated to improve and expand the facilities of schools in England.

The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) will support 1,556 projects across almost 1,300 academies and sixth-form colleges to help improve conditions of or expand their facilities.

Schools submitted bids for funding last year.

Six schools in Wolverhampton will get cash, including East Park Academy, which gets a new heating system, and Elston Hall Primary which gets a new roof.

St Bartholomew’s CofE Primary is in line for replacement windows, while Northwood Park Primary School will see its heating system replaced.

The city’s pupil referral unit, Northern House School, in Cromer Gardens, is to get roof repairs, electrical safety works and security and safeguarding improvements.

In Walsall four schools will benefit.

Barr Beacon School will receive money towards its swimming pool project, Park Hall Junior School gets funding for a sports hall, while Queen Mary’s Grammar School’s cash is for an extension to its design technology and art block.

Three schools in Sandwell will receive funding, including Holyhead Primary Academy In Wednesbury, which has earmarked the cash for replacement windows.

Shireland Collegiate Academy in Smethwick will benefit from fire safety improvement works, and Victoria Park Primary, also in Smethwick, is to get funding to deal with health and safety issues involving gas works and mechanical services.

Across Dudley, eight schools are lined up for investment. Bishop Milner Catholic College is to get a replacement roof cover, Castle High School will get funding for new pipework and Redhill School in Stourbridge will have a new boiler and roof paid for.

Other projects signed off include Holly Hall Academy (new heating and water system); Hillcrest School (new pipework and roof); and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary on Hillcrest Road (fires safety improvements).

King Edward VI College, Stourbridge, is to receive money towards its expansion project. A total of 27 schools in Staffordshire will get funding.

Among them are Churchfield CofE Primary Academy in Cannock Chase, which will use its funding for roof repairs, and Perton Primary Academy, which is running a safeguarding and site security project.

Minister for the Schools System, Lord Agnew, said: “All children deserve the best possible education and state of the art facilities are a big part of that.

“This funding will transform the condition of school buildings and help our best schools to expand, creating more good school places for families in West Midlands and raising standards for pupils.

“This will build on the hard work of teachers and our reforms, which have resulted in 1.9 million more children being taught in good or outstanding schools than in 2010.”

The CIF is an annual funding allocation that academies and sixth-form colleges are invited to bid for. In addition to improving the quality of school facilities, the fund also enables Good or Outstanding schools to expand where required.

Since 2010 825,000 new school places have been created as schools battle to cater for a growing population.

The cash includes £38m for projects supported by the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund, which is drawn from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.

This fund helps to improve children and young people’s physical and mental health by enhancing the quality of, and access to, facilities such as changing rooms, playgrounds, kitchens and sports halls.

To be eligible, schools cannot be part of a large multi-academy trust (at least five schools), as large trusts have separate funding arrangements.