A PRIMARY school in Burnley is set to become one of the town’s few beneficiaries of the credit crunch.

Infants at St John The Baptist Primary are based in Ivy Street but the juniors are nearly a mile away in Thames Avenue.

But the schools could be united in the near future after a £600,000 Whitehall handout.

The funding was revealed as part of the government’s pre-budget report, as part of the capital programme to stimulate the UK’s economy.

Burnley MP Kitty Ussher, welcoming the cash, said: “I am very happy that St John’s will benefit from this money and I want to congratulate them on their success in this bid.

“Every penny spent on education is worth it for the future but this money will enable a Burnley school to have a modern facility on one site making it easier for teachers, pupils and parents.

“Obviously, the extra boost is that this is money the Government is spending to stimulate the economy.

“It is real action that we will see on a local level that will not only benefit children but provide jobs and security during a difficult time.”

Just last February the school installed a prefabricated classroom, as a stopgap measure to provide extra accommodation at the Thames Avenue site.

Similar work, funded by Lancashire County Council, is ongoing to bring Padiham Primary’s junior and infant sites onto the latter’s buildings on Burnley Road.