Labour councillors disappointed that only one local school will benefit
Labour councillors are disappointed that only one Wandsworth School is to benefit from the Priority School Building Programme, announced last week by Education Secretary Michael Gove.
It was revealed that Chestnut Grove School, a local Academy, is the only school to be chosen in Wandsworth to receive funding under the new scheme, despite many remaining in desperate need of maintenance and repair work to their buildings.
This scheme replaces Labour’s Building Schools for the Future programme, which the Coalition scrapped in its first few weeks, cancelling Labour’s school building plans for more than 700 schools nationally. Now, just 261 schools are to receive support under Michael Gove’s PFI-funded plans.
Cllr Sheila Boswell, Wandsworth Labour’s spokesperson for Education said,
“Whilst funding for Chestnut Grove is to be welcomed, many other schools in Wandsworth are also in grave need of investment in their buildings; the kind of investment they would have received under Labour. Elliott School is in very poor repair, as are Graveney School and Battersea Park School. Both were due to be helped under Labour’s Building Schools for the Future Programme – now all are losing out under this Government.
“This shows the Coalition's lack of commitment to investing in education, leaving schools in conditions barely adequate to teach in. This despite the fact we know pressure on schools is growing, as more and more pupils each year are applying for places. Labour in Wandsworth want parents to have real choice of great Wandsworth schools, but this choice is diminished when certain schools are left in poor condition. Unlike the Conservatives, Labour would make this a priority”.
May 28, 2012