4:11pm Monday 8th March 2010
By Oliver Evans
CHESHAM Park Community College is set for a major refurbishment after winning Government cash.
It is the second school in the south of the county to get cash from the Building Schools for the Future programme.
The scheme – one of Labour’s biggest education initiatives – aims to refurbish or ‘renew’ every secondary in England.
Ministers announced today that six county schools including Chesham Park, in Chartridge Lane, will share a £80m payout.
Marion Clayton, cabinet member for achievement and learning at Buckinghamshire County Council, heralded the news.
She said:: “This is just the morale boost we needed.
“We have fought long and hard to secure funding to improve those schools most in need of work, and at last we can look forward to providing pupils and staff with learning environments they fully deserve.
“We went through a rigorous process and, because we were ahead of the game and ready to go with the projects we were bidding for, our bid succeeded.
“We cannot wait to get started.”
The other county schools are: Burnham Upper, Mandeville School (Aylesbury), The Grange Aylesbury, Buckingham Upper School and Furze Down in Winslow.
Furze Down will be rebuilt and the others will be refurbished, the council said.
The cash will be available from April 2012.
Tim Byles, chief executive of Partnerships for Schools, which runs the scheme, said: “We look forward to working with Buckinghamshire to help deliver schools fit for the 21st century, and to ensure that taxpayers get maximum value from every education pound spent.”
Cressex Community School is being rebuilt with cash from the scheme.
Last month Conservative Councillor Clayton said Bucks is ‘way down the list’ for BSF cash (see link, bottom of story).
She has said the scheme is the only way schools will get major building cash as the council is short of funds. Its leaders say they are under-funded by the Government.
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