MORE than £100m has been spent on County Durham's school buildings over the past six years - but more work is still needed.

A total of 307 schools have benefited from the cash with projects ranging from a new sports hall to the building of a completely new school.

Increased funding from central Government combined with Durham County Council's own investment programme, are behind the works which total £100.59m.

And the figure does not include funds which have gone directly to schools for repairs and maintenance.

The authority admits, however, there is much more work to do and the council still faces a maintenance and repairs backlog of more than £118m.

The leader of Durham County Council, Councillor Ken Manton, said yesterday: "It is no secret that there has been a need for massive investment in schools in County Durham for many years.

"While the council has endeavoured to do what it can, adequate funding simply has not been available."

But the overall picture, he said had changed in recent years and new opportunities are being presented all the time.

He added: "Government packages such as New Deal for Schools mean that at last we are able to target significant levels of funding at the infrastructure of our schools."

Coun Manton said that Government commitment to further funding in coming years meant that the county was now able to plan ahead and make a real difference to the fabric of school buildings.

Examples of the huge investment programme include a new £2m school in Catchgate, near Stanley, a new primary in Peterlee at a cost of £1.85m and a sports hall for Ferryhill Comprehensive at a cost of £943,000.

Coun Manton said: "New opportunities for funding are being presented all the time, so while the environment is more complex than it was, the end result is that we are spending more money on our school buildings.

"That can only be good news for everyone involved as it means teachers and pupils will be able to work and learn in vastly improved surroundings."