9:43am Wednesday 7th July 2010
By Kirsty Whalley
Croydon Council’s plans for a £350m investment into the borough’s schools was thrown into disarray as its Government funded programme was axed on Monday.
The council, which has already spent £1m on the project, now has to try to borrow the funding from another source or the regeneration plan is doomed.
In November last year the council, which put in a joint bid with Kingston, was awarded £100m to begin working on the first phase of its scheme to transform Croydon’s schools.
Phase one of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which has been stopped, included refurbishing Priory Special School and Archbishop Lanfranc School.
The future of a new school on the site of Selsdon High School, called Quest Academy, is still undecided.
Other plans already in motion for Harris Academy Purley and the Brit School are also under discussion.
MP Gavin Barwell said: "[Education Secretary Michael Gove] needs to get the review done very quickly and acknowledge that some local authorities have had a lot of money for investment in their schools and Croydon is yet to see a penny.
"I am very concerned about the Quest Academy, we need urgent confirmation the Government is going to provide something for that."
Jillian Thomas, Priory School headteacher, said: “The school and the governors are very disappointed but hope we can work with Croydon and the Government to implement Croydon’s proposals for special educational needs.”
Dave Clark, headteacher for Archbishop Lanfranc, said: “We will continue to work with local partners to explore future funding possibilities at the earliest opportunity.”
Oasis Academy in Coulsdon, where a £20m redevelopment began in May, and the Oasis Academy in Shirley Park which opened last year, are unaffected.
Other plans dependent on BSF funding are on hold. They include building a new school in the north of the borough, replacing Addington High School with a smaller school closer to transport links and rebuilding Archbishop Tenison’s, St Mary’s Catholic and St Andrews CE schools as well as Thomas More Catholic High School.
Councillor Tim Pollard, who spoke from the Croydon headteachers conference, said: “Despite the sad news, the mood here is surprisingly upbeat.
“We all believe we have a very plausible strategy for Croydon. What has changed is the means by which we can deliver it.
“We await details from the Government about the plan to replace BSF. We need to take a couple of months over the summer to take stock and tap into the new services to carry out our plans.”
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