London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

Headteachers fight for funds to shore up England’s dilapidated classrooms

Headteachers fight for funds to shore up England’s dilapidated classrooms

Hundreds of schools are queueing for cash to replace leaky roofs and failing heating. Yet each year only 50 will get money to rebuild
When it rains, the pupils at Wales high school, south Yorkshire, know to look out for numerous obstacles as they move around the building - buckets, lots of buckets.

“On a rainy day, it’s commonplace to see a dozen buckets around the school,” said headteacher Pepe Di’Iasio. “You can’t do anything long term. We’re just patching over the roof and doing the various things that we can. We have flat roofs, asbestos throughout the place and an old energy system that uses heavy amounts. We have a building that we heat up every day and the heating goes straight up out of the roof.”

Inspectors have told him that his school, in Kiveton Park, near Rotherham, is among the bottom 200 in terms of its condition. Yet with only 50 schools accepted for the government’s school rebuilding plan each year, most of those will have to wait.

“When you consider the increased energy costs at the moment, that’s waiting another year when energy costs have increased by over 100% and students are in inadequate buildings,” Di’Iasio said.

When the Labour MP for York Central, Rachael Maskell, visited a local outstanding school, she was amazed at what she was shown. Education at All Saints Roman Catholic school is highly regarded, but Maskell was left in no doubt that it was no environment for teaching.

“Music takes place in an old aircraft hangar, which is freezing cold or boiling hot in the summer,” she said. “You’ve got the gym, where feet are going through the floors. There are issues with water ingress. It’s a place with a fantastic history, but for a modern school today, it doesn’t serve that purpose.”

The school is also among those to have made a bid for funding. Yet while a lucky few will be successful, it is now clear that both teachers across the country and figures within Whitehall believe a far bigger pot of money is needed.

Education figures track the problems back to big cuts to the budgets for school buildings back in 2010.

“When I took over 13 years ago, we had real problems,” said Paul Gosling, headteacher at Exeter Road community primary school in Exmouth, Devon. “We had a pitched roof and water running down three of the classroom walls when it rained.

“It was a sorry state, there were bits of asbestos in places, making it difficult to do any remedial work. The whole roof needed a replacement. We were given a quote of £700,000 for it. We used to have about £45,000 capital funding, but in 2010, that was reduced. Our £45,000 went down to £7,000 – I did say to my governors that we’ve got to save up for 100 years, then we can do the roof.”

When water started running over electricity boxes and the school sought help from the local MP, it was granted funds for rebuilding work, which was finished last year. But as regional branch secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, he is aware of many other schools that haven’t been so lucky.

“One school has three temporary classrooms that are rotting and falling apart, and not fit for 21st century education. Devon has a stock of 300-odd schools. In a two-year period, we were only one of four schools getting that sort of major investment. There’s no way that system of pooling the money is going to address the needs that we’ve got. There are many schools that are falling into some real disrepair.”

The bill for school repairs certainly seems to be growing. Last year, an official audit found that schools in England face a repair bill of more than £11bn, almost double some previous estimates.

Several teachers also pointed out that the current system for funding repairs was inefficient. Schools often spent money patching up their buildings, shortly before they were finally granted funding for a rebuild. They said schools should be told about funding awards further in advance.

Maskell said that she was aware of other schools in her constituency facing similar problems to All Saints. She, too, said that spiking energy costs were making the situation even more urgent.

“Many have old heating systems. With the cost of living going up, you’re going to end up heating up York – and you’re going to pay for it.

“All Saints is a fantastic school. It does remarkably well and has a reputation for caring and supporting its pupils. You just think, if it had a decent school environment, too, what more could be achieved there,” Maskell said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
×