Schools to benefit from £390,000 Government grant (From The Northern Echo)

Schools to benefit from £390,000 Government grant

5:58pm Thursday 11th December 2008 in Search

HUNDREDS of pupils look set to benefit after the Government announced a £390,000 grant to be shared between three Teesside schools.

The funding from the Department for Children, Schools and Families' National Challenge budget will help developments currently taking place at St Peter's Catholic College of Maths and Computing, Redcar; Gillbrook College, in South Bank and Freebrough Specialist Engineering College, in Brotton.

Redcar and Cleveland Council's vision for the three schools is already taking shape under its £90million Building Schools for the Future programme and this announcement also comes with an endorsement that approves of the way of improving standards.

The Council's cabinet member for children's services and education Councillor Ian Jeffrey said: "We are absolutely delighted to receive the extra funding and the acknowledgment that we are developing good practice in reaching solutions to difficult problems.

"We aim to provide the very best educational environment for every one of our students. This additional funding will help us to ensure each of these schools receives extra support to drive further improvement."

The students at both St Peter's and Gillbrook have already been involved in plans aimed at the creation of a Community Learning Campus that would serve the needs of all learners in the Eston and South Bank area.

A 3-16-year-old Catholic school would be part of the Learning Campus, bringing together two primary schools, St Margaret Clitherow's and St Mary's and St Peter's.

There are several components to the campus-style proposal for a Learning Village. The plans feature an 11-18-year-old secondary school based on an expanded Eston Park School maintaining its specialism in business and enterprise.

On the same campus will be the newly-built 16-19-year-old collaborative centre and a new Vocational Centre of Excellence to cater for the wider curriculum needs of all students.

To achieve this, a formal consultation will now centre on the expansion of Eston Park to accommodate 1,200 pupils and the closure of Gillbrook College.

At Freebrough College, governors have agreed to explore the option of an Academy. School governors and the Council are involved in discussions with Teesside University, further education providers and local industry in order to link education more closely with the world of work.