The Quest Academy will receive £14.5 million of capital funding, the Government has announced.
When the Government revealed this summer that it would scrap most of England’s national school redevelopment scheme, it was uncertain whether the new academy (which replaced Selsdon High School) would get funding despite having a run-down building.
The Principal, Andy Crofts, is very pleased. He said: “The staff and students are truly delighted by this announcement. This is the final piece of the jigsaw of our collective vision for a first class learning environment.
“The anticipation is already palpable and we can only speculate about how exciting it will be when the project is brought to fruition.”
In July, Education Secretary Michael Gove said that 719 schools that were originally signed up for the redevelopment scheme would not go ahead. While another 123 academy schemes were going to be reviewed case by case.
Even though it looked like the school might not get any money, Gavin Barwell MP for Croydon Central, had been working hard to see the project through. He said: “I have been lobbying behind the scenes for funding to create a school fit for the 21st century. I am delighted that our efforts have paid off.”
Mr. Barwell led a delegation including Mike Fisher and Tim Pollard, the Leader and Deputy of the Council, and Maureen Martin and Andy Crofts, the Executive Principal and Principal of the Quest Academy, to see the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools. This he thinks paid off.
Even though the MP was hoping for even more money, he is not disappointed: “ Although we have not got the money we would have liked, £14.5 million is a good result at a time when government budgets are extremely tight and it will make a big difference to the environment pupils learn in.”
