Eleven schools from Preston and the surrounding areas are to receive funding for vital repairs.
The North West has been given a £54m allocation of the Department for Educations £470m Condition Improvement Fund which has been introduced to help schools sort out address major needs.
It will be used to ensure buildings are safe and in good working order by addressing health and safety, building compliance and poor condition issues.
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Small academy trusts and VA schools as well as sixth form colleges nationally applied for a slice of the funding in an annual bidding round, while a limited number of expansion schemes were also available nationwide through the scheme.
Those to benefit in the local area are:
- St Bernard’s Catholic Primary School, Lea, Preston
- St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, St Matthews, Preston
- St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, Fishwick, Preston
- The Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School, Ribbleton, Preston
- Lostock Hall Academy, Ribble Valley
- St Michael’s Church of England High School, Chorley
- Albany Academy, Chorley
- Academy@Worden, South Ribble
- Southlands High School, Chorley
- Highfield Community Primary School, Chorley
- Gillibrand Primary School, Chorley
County councillor Matthew Salter, cabinet member for education and skills at Lancashire County Council, said: “We welcome this vital funding from the Condition Improvement Fund that will facilitate crucial repair work in these Lancashire schools to enable to them continue to operate safely with little risk of disruption to young people’s education.
“It is essential that school buildings are kept in good repair to ensure they remain a safe place for young people, teachers and the whole school community.
“We will continue to seek more vital support for our schools, in order to show children that their education matters, their futures matter, and that they can get the best possible start in life.”
A different funding pot, known as School Condition Allocation, is available to local authorities, larger multi-academy trusts (MATs) and larger VA school bodies.
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