Highgate school affected by buildings programme cancellation

La Sainte Union RC secondary school in Highgate is one of 17 Camden schools affected by Education Secretary Michael Gove's announcement this week that the Building Schools for the Future programme will be cancelled.

BSF was set to be the UK's largest-ever school buildings investment programme, a multi-billion pound scheme that would eventually see every school in England rebuilt or remodelled. The scheme has already rolled out across neighbouring Haringey and Islington, with both boroughs unaffected by cancellations.

Mr Gove's announcement means that over 700 planned building works across England will now not go ahead, in a move planned to save billions. The programme aimed to update school buildings and bring improved learning environments to all local authorities in England.

The building scheme has not been without controversy, however. Last month, staff at St Aloysius College in Highgate struck over the standard of building work carried out by contractors Balfour Beatty under the BSF scheme.

The National Union of Teachers has criticised the decision to cut the building programme, arguing that better learning environments lead to better learning. Mr Gove argues that the education budget can be more effectively spent on increasing the number of primary school places across England. He has also said the BSF programme was inefficient and bureaucratic, and has promised to review the way in which school building works are carried out.

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