ST HELENS Council is planning to invest a further £5 million over the next two years, to ensure staff and pupils across the borough have buildings fit to work and learn in. The investment is in addition to the current agreed investment of more than £5 million.

The majority of the funding is from the Government's New Deal for Schools Initiative (NDS) with significant contributions from the local authority and schools. Since 1997, St Helens school buildings have undergone £3 million of improvement work.

In addition to the investment made to date, this year the council agreed to invest £2.5 million in the rebuilding of Eccleston and Windle Bleak Primary school. Work on this project begins in the next few months with the new school due to open in September next year. The council has contributed £500,000 to this project, which will provide the third brand new St Helens primary school since 1997.

Improvement work carried out so far includes electrical re-wiring, boiler/heater system replacements, re-roofing, security enhancements, window replacements, structural improvements and major improvements to the fabric of school buildings. Sherdley Primary School is one of the buildings to benefit from the investment made, to date. The junior department underwent a full window replacement in 1998/99 and has just undergone a re-roofing programme at a total cost of £155,000.

The authority has now bid for a further £4 million from the NDS initiative and is planning to contribute £1.2 million from its own and school resources to take the next round of improvements to more than £5 million. If the new proposals are accepted, it will mean an investment in St Helens school buildings of £10.7 million over five years.

This bid aims to provide new sports facilities, science and technology refurbishments at eight high schools, replacement of temporary classrooms at five schools, and major refurbishments at 19 schools across the borough.

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