TWO Worcester schools are set to expand and improve their facilities after they were chosen to receive more than £200,000 in government funding.

Carnforth School and Stanley Road Primary School are sharing a combined £229,471 out of a government fund of £560million.

The funding, unveiled by education secretary Gavin Williamson, will allow the two city schools to expand classrooms and upgrade facilities.

It comes from the £560 million announced by the Prime Minister last month as part of his so-called New Deal for Britain, to help the nation bounce back from coronavirus by investing in infrastructure and skills and creating jobs.

It is in addition to the £1.4 billion of capital funding for 2020-21 already announced in April and is provided through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).

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It is not known yet how much each school will receive, or what they will do with it.

Worcester MP Robin Walker welcomed the news, saying: “Coronavirus has taken a toll on us all, not least our children, who have been kept from their friends, their teachers and their schools.

“As we exit lockdown we must focus on getting children back to school – and ensure that schools have the facilities and classrooms they need to support the high-quality education our children deserve.

“This funding will help ensure all children have modern environments which will promote the very best possible schools and education, enabling them to gain all the knowledge and skills they need for success. There is more to press for, but welcome progress.”

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Announcing the funding. education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “Investing in our school and college buildings helps create modern environments that lend themselves to great teaching, making sure every child has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

“We have worked at great speed to release this additional £560m of condition funding to schools for projects this year to kick-start the economy and get the country moving again following coronavirus.”

“This funding brings the total allocated to improve the condition of our school buildings to £2 billion this year and paves the way for our new transformative ten-year school building programme starting later this year with over £1 billion funding for the first wave of 50 schools.”