Five schools on the Isle of Wight look set to receive a major refurb.
St George's Special School, The Bay CE School (secondary site), Nine Acres Primary School, Hunnyhill Primary School, and Medina College have been provisionally prioritised for the government's flagship School Rebuilding Programme.
Today's (Friday) announcement could potentially represent a multi-million-pound investment in Island education, providing hundreds of children access to new, modern classrooms.
It follows a series of successful applications by the Isle of Wight Council to the Department for Education (DfE), which invited local authorities all across the country to bid for funding.
Welcoming the news, Councillor Debbie Andre, Cabinet member for education, said:
"I'm absolutely delighted that five Island schools have been provisionally allocated a place on the School Rebuilding Programme.
"We very much hope that it will provide us with the necessary investment to build the best possible environment in which our children can learn, play and thrive and in which our teachers can deliver the highest quality teaching."
The school rebuilding programme was launched last year and will see 500 schools across the country partially or fully rebuilt over a ten-year period.
The new buildings will be more energy efficient for future winter resilience and net-zero in operation, with old facilities replaced by modern education environments.
Island MP, Bob Seely, said:
“I am delighted Isle of Wight schools look set to benefit from the latest round of the School Rebuilding Programme. Well done to all those involved in the bidding process.
“I look forward to hearing more from the department about these proposals in due course.”