HUGE BOOST FOR NORTH DEVON SCHOOLS

Two schools in North Devon are set to receive £1.38m to upgrade and refurbish buildings.

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The Park Community School in Barnstaple, Devon, and Witheridge Primary Academy in Witheridge, Devon, have been allocated a share of the latest Government investment

The Park Community School in Barnstaple, Devon, and Witheridge Primary Academy in Witheridge, Devon, have been allocated a share of the latest Government investment, to expand classrooms, upgrade facilities and improve the education of children across the whole country. This funding will ensure schools have well-maintained facilities to provide students with safe environments that support high-quality education.

The investment comes from the £560million announced by the Prime Minister last month as part of his New Deal for Britain, to help the nation bounce back from coronavirus by investing in infrastructure, skills and creating jobs. It is in addition to the £1.4 billion of capital funding for 2020-21 already announced in April and is provided through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).

This funding will bring the total allocated to improve the condition of school buildings to £2billion this year – paving the way for the new transformative ten-year school building programme starting later this year with over £1 billion funding for the first wave of 50 schools.

MP for North Devon, Selaine Saxby, said: “I am delighted that North Devon has secured this funding for The Park Community School and Witheridge Primary Academy to upgrade their facilities.

I am particularly pleased for The Park School as headteacher Gareth Roscoe wrote to me in early July about the failure of their initial Community Improvement Fund bid.

“I wrote to the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, to express my concerns that North Devon is in need of investment in its schools, particularly those like The Park School with “shovel-ready” projects waiting to go.

Source: In Your Area