POWERS to decide which schools are given money for refurbishment should be given to local councils, said the Conservative candidate yesterday.

If Graham Robb becomes MP for Sedgefield, he has promised to lobby for local councils to decide which schools should be given cash for improvements.

The move comes after a visit to Hurworth School Maths and Computing College, which gets some of the best GCSE results in the country, but is housed in facilities which are nearly 60 years old.

The school is hoping it will get funding in the next round of Government awards, but this could depend on whether Hurworth fits criteria defined by Westminister.

Mr Robb was accompanied on his visit by Richmond MP and former Tory leader William Hague, who has given his backing to Mr Robb's campaign.

Mr Robb and Mr Hague met Eamonn Farrar, who is chief executive at Hurworth, to talk about the school.

Mr Farrar said Hurworth had missed out on cash for improvements on the last round of funding, but was badly in need of investment for new buildings, illustrated after a gas leak last year.

"The authority is putting money in, as much as they can to stop the rot, but that is all they can do," he said.

He said he felt the school, which has a 90 per cent pass rate for A* to C grades at GCSE and holds conferences to other schools around Europe on its mentoring system, should be rewarded for its success.

"It would be nice to see someone investing in success," he said.

"Sometimes, from here, it looks like there is a lot of investment in failure."

After his visit, Mr Robb told The Northern Echo that the school funding issue needed debating, particularly in light of the Hurworth case.

"If I were elected, one of the first things I would do is try to change Government policy on how this criteria is decided," he said.

"It should be left to local authorities and local school to how they best plan capital funds."