Warrington South MP Andy Carter has welcomed the Government’s announcement that Penketh High School will receive funding as part of the national Schools Rebuild Programme.
The West Warrington high school is one of sixty-one across the country which are set to receive state of the art rebuilds or refurbishments that will transform education for their pupils.
Work to deliver the project will start immediately. It will include updating and modernising buildings, and creating state of the art facilities. The new school buildings will be net-zero carbon in operation, helping meet the Government’s net zero target.
Andy Carter has prioritized Penketh High School for support by the Department for Education following a visit to the site when he was first elected in 2019. As well as securing meetings for the Penketh High’s leadership team with the Schools Minister, the MP managed to get a condition improvement survey brought forward because of his concerns over the safety of buildings. He has also raised the matter in Parliament as recently as last week when he asked the Education Secretary to support the school’s application to fund a re-build programme.
The funding, which is around £6million, is in addition to a grant from Warrington Borough Council recently agreed.
Commenting on the funding announcement, Andy Carter MP said: “Our children deserve the best start in life and I made a commitment when elected to work to secure better facilities for our local schools. During my first tour around the school with Head Teacher Mr Carlin I saw the problems for myself, some of the classroom blocks are in urgent need of replacement and some couldn’t be used. I very quickly arranged a meeting with the Ministerial Team to make the case that Penketh be part of the Schools Rebuild Programme. TCAT submitted a strong bid and are also using some of the funds allocated to Academies to support this project. This is very welcome funding and I know the school are keen to get underway with the building project.
“I also pay tribute to Penketh High’s improving educational achievements, this is really great school where renewed leadership and inspirational teaching is paying off for children in Penketh. The school recently received an improved rating from Ofsted and a sports gold award. It’s fantastic news that they will now be getting the funding to replace the buildings that they so urgently need.”
The Government’s funding announcement can be viewed here: Schools across the country to receive state of the art refurbishments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
