Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for Education, joined the Conservative Parliamentary Party for Bath, Ben Howlett, to visit the building site of the new primary school at Mulberry Park.
Speaking during the visit to Bath, Justine said, ‘I know Ben has been a tireless campaigner for the people of Bath. One of the things that our Government wants to deliver on is making sure there is a school place for children growing up in Bath today and that means not just a new primary here in Mulberry Park but others around the city too.
‘Of course this sits alongside the investment that we have committed to bringing into England, including great cities like Bath, making sure that every year in the next Parliament we have an above inflation real terms rise in school funding; a billion pounds a year and up to four billion by the end of the next Parliament and of course making sure that we also spread that money more fairly and consistently across pupils in England. That will mean that there are no losers in our fair funding as it is finally rolled out which is really important for schools.
‘I want to say a massive thank you to teachers as standards are getting better and across our country now nearly nine out of ten schools are good or outstanding. That’s hundreds of thousands of more children in better quality schools getting a better start. Here in the South West, over 150,000 more pupils in good or outstanding schools compared to 2010. ’
During the visit, Ben said, ‘As a school governor at one of the schools in Bath I know that the extra £4 billion in funding will be very welcome. I want to echo Justine’s comments about teachers and thank those that educate Bath’s children for all the excellent work they do. Throughout my time as an MP I have championed Bath schools wherever possible and have lobbied Justine for increased funding and resource which I am pleased to see will be happening in the next Parliament. If re-elected I will continue to celebrate the excellent work of Bath schools and the support they give our young people.’