HC Deb 26 October 2001 vol 373 cc463-4W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she has introduced

to encourage the sharing of facilities between state and independent schools; and what assessment she has made of the impact of these measures. [9595]

Mr. Timms

Our independent/state school partnerships programme promotes collaborative working between the independent and maintained school sectors. Over 150 projects, involving over 500 schools and 50,000 pupils, have received a total of £3 million since 1998. Each project is different and individual projects have covered most areas of the curriculum and included a wide range of different schools. Some projects encourage schools to share facilities. An external evaluation of the programme by Leeds University school of education in 1999 found that it was achieving its objectives and contributing to raising standards in a cost-effective way.