St Helens College set for upgrades with government funding

It is to receive £1,317,384.97 from a Department for Education pot totalling £56m.

From repairing leaky roofs and fixing broken windows to updating worn-out heating systems, all 33 colleges will benefit. Each one will receive individual allocations in the summer, ranging from £6,000 for smaller institutions to £7m for large college groups for the next academic year.

Colleges will be given the flexibility to decide how the funding is spent, so it can be directed where it is needed most.

It is said by the Government that the funding "will restore pride in England’s colleges and break down barriers to opportunity for students, with fewer disruptions to lessons, more comfortable learning environments, and better spaces for students to focus and succeed."

The government says modernised colleges is a key part key of delivering on the Prime Minister’s target for two-thirds of young people to be taking a gold standard apprenticeship, higher training or heading to university by the age of 25.

The fund has been boosted by £5m since last year, when it was introduced in response to colleges calling for a reliable annual allocation to plan and maintain their estates. It is part of a £1.7b investment from the government’s Industrial Strategy for colleges to modernise buildings by 2030.

Skills Minister Jacqui Smith said: "The young people in these colleges are the engineers, bricklayers and designers of the future and they and the dedicated staff teaching them deserve the best possible environment to learn and succeed.

"This £56m investment will repair and modernise facilities across all 33 colleges in the North West, giving young people the spaces they need to build the skills they need for good careers, helping to drive economic growth."

Funding will be distributed to colleges in due course.