Two Beds Academies To Be Rebuilt

11 August 2010, 10:00

The Department for Education has confirmed that it has allocated funding for a rebuild of All Saints Academy in Dunstable and Bedford Academy.

The news comes after Michael Gove put forward a list off 33 schools that will receive funding to be rebuilt, which include three in Hertfordshire, despite the government scrapping the Building Schools for the Future project.

Earlier in July the future of these academies was in doubt after the government announced that funding for new buildings for over 100 academies would be put on hold.

After hearing that All Saints Academy in Dunstable is one of the few chosen to receive the funding and the Diocese of St Albans, All Saints Academy and Central Bedfordshire Council have all welcomed the news.

Principal of All Saints Academy Tom Waterworth has been telling Heart:

"The news that our building project will go ahead as originally envisaged is great news for the parents and students of Dunstable and Houghton Regis. We will have an Academy building of which we will be very proud.

"My thanks go to all the stakeholders for their untiring efforts to make sure that the building programme goes ahead as originally planned."

The £14.5 million project will be administered through Central Bedfordshire Council who will secure the building project on behalf of the school.

The full funding of £24.8 million will be made available to make sure that Bedford Academy will be completed by September 2012.

When the news was announced David Russell, who is the Chief Executive of the Bedford Charity, told us:

"I am really delighted that our project has got to go ahead and we will be able to deliver the promises made about improving the education facilities in the area.

"The new buildings will be a major source of inspiration and pride for the staff, pupils and parents.

"I am so please for the young people of the area in particular - they deserve this good news."