£15m pledged to create academy

A £15 million grant has been pledged by the government to help create Bilston's new academy, it was revealed today.

The academy, known as the South Wolverhampton and Bilston Academy, is being created as part of the £370m Building Schools for the Future programme.

Parkfield Specialist Language College, which operates on two sites in Wolverhampton Road East and Prosser Street, has already been officially relaunched as the academy.

And a cash grant has now been pledged by the Department for Children, Schools and Families which will help fund the creation of a new base and facilities for pupils.

Construction on the new facility at Bilston Urban Village will start in May 2011 and is due to open its doors in September 2012.

The cash announcement has been made just days after a new logo for the revitalised school, featuring five stars, was unveiled in front of more than 700 pupils.

Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden said today: "I have pressed for an academy for Bilston for some years. It's clear that we have to raise educational standards in the area if we are to maximise opportunity for young people in Bilston.

"The academy must be a fresh start for secondary education. This is great news for Bilston and offers real hope for a better educational future for young people in the area."

Academies are all-ability, state-funded schools that are set up and managed by sponsors.