Hundreds of new school places to be created

Just over £57 million is being provided following a review of school capacity.

West Sussex County Council had expected to receive £16,479,107 over the next couple of years. However, a further capital grant allocation of £40,698,961 was announced last week bringing the total amount of investment to £57,178,068 over the next three years.

The extra allocations are specifically targeted at local authorities who are facing significant and unexpected increases in pupil numbers. The funding will support the provision of additional school places across the county.

County cabinet member for education and skills, Jeremy Hunt, said: “We are extremely pleased to see that the Department for Education (DfE) has recognised some of the challenges ahead for counties facing a growth in pupil numbers.

“This funding will provide much needed capital resources to enable the provision of extra school places over the next three years. The additional money will allow us to plan ahead and make good investment decisions on how to provide the facilities we need for our children in the future.

“At this stage the exact details of how the money will be spent have yet to be finalised, but once we have all the information from the DfE we will be able to move forward with our planning for these extra places across the county.”