A HEAD teacher has spoken out after plans to build a new York secondary school have not received funding.

The Government has today announced a list of 61 schools across the country set to benefit from a share of the £1 billion School Rebuilding Programme.

As The Press reported earlier today, Tang Hall Primary School is the only one in York to make the list and they will now wait to hear whether or not they are getting an entirely new school.

Back in March, The Press, reported that York Central MP Rachael Maskell outlined to MPs at Westminster the desperate need for York’s oldest secondary school, All Saints RC School in South Bank, to make the list.

Today All Saints head teacher, Sharon Keelan-Beardsley, has spoken of her disappointment that they have not made the cut.

She said: "In our latest diocesan inspection report, All Saints was described as a warm and welcoming school where every member of the school community is valued. Sadly, we do not feel that the Department for Education have held us in that same high regard.

"Our students are very proud to attend All Saints and we care deeply about giving them the best possible academic and pastoral experience.

"Therefore, to feel that they are not seen as deserving an environment that is modern and fit for purpose is very disappointing.

"We were due to receive a visit on the July 7, so that the Department for Education could assess the needs of the school, however, this was cancelled the day before.

"We have been given some additional funding for emergency repair work, as it was recognised that we have some significant needs and we can only hope that All Saints will be considered for some support in the future.

"I would like to thank Rachael and the team at All Saints for their tireless efforts in trying to secure some help for our school."

As Ms Maskell detailed back in March, among the issues at the school, masonry is falling off, and any repair needed is highly expensive. That is partly because the school is in a conservation area, and any work has to reach an aesthetic standard to be considered appropriate, so a walkway repair that would normally cost about £5,000 would be £11,000 at the cheapest. The school needs a new gym floor which to repair alone would cost in the region of £60,000.

Ms Maskell said today: “I am very disappointed not to see All Saints on the list of schools to attract new capital funding. All Saints is in urgent need for redevelopment to be made accessible and for good spaces for young people to enjoy, inside and out.

"The school has outgrown its two sites and I will be finding out what steps now need to be taken to secure funding in the next funding round. I will continue to work with All Saints - and other schools in York in need of funding - to ensure they receive this support as soon as possible."

With about 1,418 on roll All Saints is currently on a split site with Years 7, 8 and 9 taught in buildings behind the Bar Convent in Nunnery Lane and Years 10 to 13 at Mill Mount.

The school is rated outstanding by Ofsted and takes pupils from across York, Malton, Pocklington, Tadcaster, Pickering and Selby, but is being let down by its buildings, according to the city’s MP.

The school has a new site in mind where it currently has games pitches in Sim Balk Lane next to York College and says it would recover much of the funding with the capital receipts from the sale of its current site.

The Department for Education DfE said it wanted to address poor conditions in all schools “as soon as possible”. It said up to 300 more successful applicants would be announced “provisionally” by the end of this financial year, subject to due diligence.

“We are still assessing all other nominations received and have not ruled out any nominated schools from selection at this point,” a spokesman said.