Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, is proud to announce that Beacon Academy in Crowborough and Uplands Academy in Wadhurst, both part of the MARK Education Trust, have been successful in securing funding for building upgrades via the latest round of the Government’s highly competitive Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).
CIF is an annual funding round administered by the Department for Education. The funding supports schools in keeping buildings safe and in good working order by improving building condition, compliance, energy efficiency and health and safety.
Following a rigorous assessment of bids, 733 academies, sixth-form colleges and voluntary aided schools will benefit from a share of £450 million through the CIF programme for 2024-25. As part of this latest round, Beacon Academy will receive support with heating replacement while Uplands Academy’s share will help deliver a safeguarding compliance project and further improvements to fire compliance requirements.
Nusrat has previously been instrumental in supporting Beacon Academy in securing £1.3 million from CIF in 2021 for improvements to its Sixth Form Centre, and a further £1.5 million for further improvements to its fire alarm system last year. Uplands Academy has also previously benefited from nearly £600,000 for upgrades to the fire compliance requirements. In 2022, Hailsham Community College and St Mary's School in Maynard's Green were also successful in securing previous support from this fund.
Nusrat Ghani said: “I am absolutely thrilled Beacon Academy and Uplands Academy will benefit from a share of the £450 million investment as part of the Government’s latest round of funding to help improve the safety of our school buildings. This is excellent news for both Crowborough and Wadhurst, a great win for the leaders of the MARK Education Trust, and comes in addition to the multi-million-pound funding secured since 2021. This much-needed boost will ensure that Wealden students can thrive in an improved learning environment and better facilities, and I look forward to seeing the improvement projects completed later in the year.”
