Schools successful in bid for £460m repair pot

Ten projects at schools and sixth forms in a county have been awarded funding as part of a £460m pot for essential repairs.

The money will be spent on new boilers, upgrades to electrical rewiring, fire safety improvements and structural repairs in buildings in Cambridgeshire.

Across the East of England, 106 schools out of 270 were successful in applying for funding, worth £80.4m in total.

Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, said the investment was about "showing children that education matters".

Projects approved in Cambridgeshire included urgent structural repairs to a building at Abbey College, Ramsey, and replacing five of its boilers with a new heating system.

Olive Academy in Cambridge was granted funding for a fire alarm, fire safety and full electrical rewire, while Long Road Sixth Form College in the city was granted money for urgent fire safety and electrical improvements and a replacement boiler and heating distribution system.

There will also be an "urgent" fire door replacement and water quality improvements at Northborough School Primary in Peterborough.

The projects will be carried out during the 2025-2026 financial year, with the first upgrades expected to begin this summer.

Ms Phillipson said: "Parents expect their children to learn in a safe warm environment. It's what children deserve, and it is what we are delivering.

"This investment is about more than just buildings – it's about showing children that their education matters, their futures matter, and this government is determined to give them the best possible start in life."

More than 4,000 academies, sixth form colleges and voluntary-aided schools across England were eligible to apply for the funding.

Across England, just 28% of applications for funding for projects were successful.

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