Gillian Keegan, the Secretary of State for Education, was in Milton Keynes on Friday afternoon (12th January) visiting Oakgrove School with local Member of Parliament Ben Everitt.
Ben worked closely with the school last year and wrote a letter of support for their successful application to the Government to boost their post-16 capacity.
The Government’s Post-16 Capacity Fund allows schools to bid for investment for extra capacity including new classrooms and Science Labs, with extra support for SEND students a key focus of Oakgrove’s bid.
The Government recently announced education funding will reach a record high next years with schools across Milton Keynes set for a boost of more than £9 million.
And the Education Secretary met with Oakgrove’s headteacher Ian Tett and other members of the senior leadership for a tour of the school and spoke to some of the school’s Sixth Form politics students on her visit.
Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, commented: "We are committed to delivering a world class education for every student in Milton Keynes and it was a real pleasure to listen to teachers and students at Oakgrove School about their experiences.
"Under the last Labour Government the number of 'Good' and 'Outstanding' schools in Milton Keynes North was just 66% and we've increased that to 98.1%.
"Ben is a committed campaigner for schools here in Milton Keynes and I know he successfully supported Oakgrove's bid to our Post-16 Capacity Fund."
Ben Everitt, the Conservative MP for Milton Keynes North, commented: “It was fantastic to welcome the Education Secretary to Oakgrove School today to show her some of the impressive work Ian and his team are doing to deliver a world-class education for our young people in Milton Keynes.
“I’m delighted we managed to secure the funding for extra post-16 capacity and I will continue to make the case for Government investment into our amazing schools across the city.”
Johnny Luk, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for the new Milton Keynes Central constituency which will include Oakgrove, also joined the Education Secretary on the visit.
He added: "It was lovely meeting students and staff at Oakgrove School with our Education Secretary and I warmly welcome the increased investment into our schools from our Conservative government. I will campaign hard to build on this as Milton Keynes continues to grow."
