John Healey MP has welcomed formal confirmation from Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson MP that Swinton Academy will be rebuilt, after years of campaigning for the school’s inclusion in the national rebuilding programme.
In a letter sent to John last month, Bridget Phillipson MP confirmed that Swinton’s rebuild is moving ahead with a project team now in place and work already underway within the Department for Education to progress the scheme. This comes after John wrote to the Secretary of State at the beginning of September here pressing for clarity on the plans to rebuild Swinton Academy.
DfE officials visited Swinton Academy in July and have begun pre-feasibility work, with feasibility expected to begin early next year subject to due diligence. The Department is also seeking to bring the timetable forward wherever possible.
John Healey, MP for Swinton, has said:
“This is fantastic news for Swinton Academy, for pupils, staff and our whole community. It’s been a long and often frustrating fight since the last Labour Government’s Building Schools for the Future plans were torn up by the Conservatives in 2010, but this Labour Government is finally getting the job done.
“We’ve now got written confirmation from the Education Secretary that the rebuild will go ahead, a dedicated project team is in place, and work has already started behind the scenes.”
Swinton Academy was first named under the previous Conservative Government in 2022 but until now there had been no written confirmation or timetable for the project.
You can read the Education Secretary’s response to John below here:
