Up to £100 million is to be invested into a schools improvement programme over the next three years in Wales.

The 21st Century Schools and Education Programme is a long-term strategic capital investment programme to modernise education infrastructure.

The Welsh Government has now allocated an extra £75m towards the initiative, with an additional £30m being released in future years for immediate investment in capital projects. Overall, the money will bring the total invested over the life of the programme to almost £3.8 billion.

The first phase of the programme will finish in 2019, having invested £1.4bn to support the rebuild and refurbishment of more than 150 schools and colleges across Wales. Up to £2.3bn will be spent during the second phase.


Cabinet Secretary for Education, Kirsty Williams, said: "Our national mission is to raise standards, reduce the attainment gap and deliver an education system that is a source of national pride and confidence. Our 21st Century Schools and Education Programme plays a key part in this and is the largest investment in our schools and colleges since the 1960s.

"Having a comfortable, modern, fit-for-purpose environment in which to learn is vital to ensuring young people have the best possible education. This extra funding will mean that even more of our students will be able to benefit from having the best possible facilities in their schools and colleges."

Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, Eluned Morgan, added: "Reaching a million Welsh speakers by 2050 is a significant challenge and education is key to the success of this ambition. This means we need to invest in new Welsh medium schools and improve and increase the teaching of Welsh in English medium schools.

"Bringing forward this funding for immediate investment allows us to ensure there is no delay in the work to achieve this target."

(LM)