Government shelves new academy plan for Wirral schools

Jul 7 2010 Birkenhead News

A NEW academy which had been set to replace two Wirral schools labelled among the UK’s worst is among the victims of the shelved Building Schools For the Future projects.

More than 50 ageing schools across Merseyside had their dreams of new classrooms shattered yesterday, when the Government axed a flagship £55bn rebuilding scheme.

Park High School, Birkenhead and Rock Ferry High School were this year ranked in the country’s worst 200 based on the percentage of candidates getting at least five A* to C grades in subjects including English and maths.

They were due to be replaced by a new academy on the Park High School site, possibly as early as this September.

But the scheme is not among the projects to survive the cull.

A £12m rebuild and refurbishment at Birkenhead High School for Girls, which became an academy in September is now uncertain with the project listed as up “for discussion.”