Hitchin MP welcomes Government’s vital repairs to local crumbling schools

PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP

FRIDAY 30th MAY 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, has welcomed news that pupils at Clifton All Saints Academy and Hitchin Girls’ School are set to benefit from essential maintenance fixes.

The two schools will benefit from a share of £470million for projects in education and healthcare settings, set to fix crumbling roofs and remove dangerous asbestos. This includes up to £78m being invested in schools across the East of England, through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).

Projects will be delivered during the 2025 to 2026 financial year, with the first upgrades expected to begin this summer.

It is part of a record £2.1 billion investment into the school estate this year – £300m more than the previous year.

Since being elected, Strathern has made doing all he can to make our area the best place to grow up a priority. This work has led to him to visit dozens of schools, chair a Westminster debate on SEND provision in Beds and Herts, and to meet frequently with ministers to push for further funds locally.

Alistair Strathern MP said:

“Parents across our constituency will remember the terror of the RAAC crisis, the fear that children were no longer safe in their own school because of years of underfunding by the last Government.

“I am thrilled to see Clifton All-Saints Academy and Hitchin Girls’ win this funding for essential maintenance works.

“With free breakfast clubs, cheaper uniform costs and safer schools, I am pleased to see this Government setting children up for the best start.”

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP, said:

“The defining image of the school estate under the previous government was children sitting under steel props to stop crumbling concrete falling on their heads. It simply isn't good enough.

“Parents expect their children to learn in a safe warm environment. It’s what children deserve, and it is what we are delivering.

“This investment is about more than just buildings - it's about showing children that their education matters, their futures matter, and this government is determined to give them the best possible start in life.”