Wolverhampton schools in line for £2m makeover

Boiler upgrades, replacement pipework, new windows and roofs are all on the agenda.

And £100,000 has been set aside to perform emergency work to remove asbestos from school roofs.

The maintenance work is set to be carried out over the coming months and will be completed by the start of the autumn term.

Bosses at Wolverhampton City Council say disruption will be kept 'to a minimum' during the work, which is being carried out in a bid to give pupils 'the best possible accommodation'.

In total, £2,033,000 will be spent on improving facilities at 32 primary and junior schools. This includes £600,000 on upgrading boilers and replacing pipework and heaters, £700,000 on repairing ceilings and roofs, and £248,000 on rewiring and electrical upgrades.

£210,000 will be spent on upgrades to windows, and £125,000 on external improvements, security and other refurbishment work.

Councillor Claire Darke, Wolverhampton City Council's education chief, said: "We are carrying out a great deal of maintenance work across our school estate.

"Giving our pupils the best possible accommodation is very important to us, as we know there is a direct correlation between educational attainment and the standard of the buildings which pupils are educated in.

"This is part of the ongoing maintenance work the council carries out in the city's schools on an annual basis, and we have worked closely with the schools involved to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum."

The authority is currently in a race to create hundreds of primary places as it struggles to cope with a spike in the number of pupils over the next two years.

Bosses estimate around 3,600 pupils will join the city's primary schools in September, with around 3,500 pupils joining in 2016 and 3,300 in 2017.

As a result 465 permanent places are being created at Bilston CE Primary, Eastfield Primary, Manor Primary and Westacre Infant schools.

A further 270 temporary places are being introduced at Bushbury Hill Primary, Loxdale Primary, St Martin's CE Primary, Stowlawn Primary and West Park Primary schools.

Work has commenced on a number of the expansion schemes with others due to begin shortly.

Councillor Darke added: "We've seen levels of demand for primary school places in Wolverhampton increase significantly over the last few years, and so we need to create hundreds of extra places – particularly over the next two years.

"We have worked closely with the schools which are receiving temporary and permanent expansions, and work is well underway to ensure that these places will be available from September."