Telford & Wrekin Council to invest £31m in schools

The council's Building Schools for the Future project saw £200m invested in rebuilding or remodelling every secondary school across the borough but new investment is now required in secondary, primary and special schools to ensure they can cope with anticipated demand.

Projects include a major expansion at Ladygrove Primary School in Dawley which will create four additional class bases: additional class bases at Priorslee Academy, Newport Junior School and St George’s Primary school, all to meet the growing demand for places in local schools.

Burton Borough School in Newport will see the completion of a new hall and additional class bases by Easter this year and a number of other Secondary schools across the Borough will see major expansion over the next couple of years with plans in the development stage for this investment.

Councillor Shirley Reynolds, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for Employment, Education and Lifelong Learning, said: “I am delighted that we have attracted new investment which has resulted in more housing and jobs.

“Telford is a great place to live, work and visit and all this growth means that it is essential that we ensure that our schools have sufficient capacity as our young population also grows.

“We will see further growth in the next two academic years so it is right that we anticipate growth and invest strategically where demand is greatest. This will mean expanding class bases in primary, secondary and special schools.”

The investment will be funded by a combination of basic need cash from the Department for Education and Section 106 funding.