A Sandbach school is getting £803,000 government cash to install a state-of-the-art fire alarm system and fire safety doors.

Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College in Middlewich Road has successfully won the money from the latest round of the government's conditional improvement (CIF) applications.

The school is one of 158 successful CIF fund applications in the North West to receive part of the £58.5 million funding to carry out repairs and upgrades in the current round of applications. 

Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College was awarded around £1million of CIF money last year as revealed in our story here

The school has used part of the money installing a new roof and the rest is being used to install state-of-the-art windows at the front of the Middlewich Road school which is currently underway.

This is in addition to the significant improvements that the Sandbach school has already invested in the site since September 2020 including five classroom extensions of the Henshall building, refurbishment of food rooms, Wolfson refurbishment of technology and photography, full refurbishment of the S floor and a new heating system.

A spokesperson from Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College added: "We have also significant works taking place on our IT infrastructure and new telephone system.

"Over the summer, the school is refurbishing all Key Stage 3 toilets and the netball and tennis courts."

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The latest round of CIF funding applications will see a £456 million pot of cash earmarked for 1,000 projects up and down the country.

These range from roof repairs and asbestos removal, electrical upgrades, heating improvements and urgent fire safety compliance projects.

Baroness Diana Barran, Minister for the School System, said: "Our condition improvement fund has already completed more than 11,000 projects, making a difference to pupils and teachers across the country.

"These projects help to create safer learning environments that make a difference to the quality of education for pupils.

"It's hugely important that every school has access to high-quality learning facilities and these funding allocations will make sure that responsible bodies can start to plan ahead and get projects started to replace roofs, boilers and windows – so pupils and teachers can learn."

But Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, claims the money is not enough.

He said: "This is money allocated through an annual bidding programme to address significant needs in terms of the condition of school and college buildings and is most certainly not an example of government largesse.

"It is the bare minimum and nowhere near enough to meet the cost of remedial work to repair or replace all defective elements in the school estate in England – which at the last count stood at £11.4bn."

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