§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what steps he is taking to help schools in coalfield communities meet the match funding requirements for the establishment of specialist sports or arts colleges. [143142]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThe Government part fund the Youth Sport Trust and the Technology Colleges Trust to help schools seeking to apply for sports and arts college 29W status. This help includes advice and support on seeking and attracting appropriate sponsorship from the private sector including donations from charitable foundations, private trust funds and individuals.
The Government recognise the difficulties which some schools face in raising the private sector sponsorship to support their applications for specialist schools status. It is a challenging task, particularly in areas of socio-economic and rural deprivation. In recognition of this the Government have recently reduced the minimum sponsorship requirement from £100, 000 to £50,000. In return, a school designated as a Specialist School receives a further £100,000 towards its capital building project and additional annual grants totalling around £500,000 over four years.