MILL Chase Community School is among thousands of secondary schools across the country who will be a receiving £10,500 grant to help its year seven pupils get up to scratch with their English and maths.
Education and skills secretary Estelle Morris announced on Tuesday that the extra money would be made available to all state schools in England to help fund extra tuition for 11-year-olds who have fallen behind in lessons.
These Òbooster classesÓ are intended to help pupils catch up with their year group and to intervene before children slip too far behind.
Concern about underachievement in the early years of secondary school has been expressed in the past and the government wants to extend what it sees as the improvements achieved in primary school.
Ms Morris announced that the extra £10,500 would be given to schools in the new financial year by extending the governmentÕs standards fund.
The education minister explained that the money would help schools, including Mill Chase, to develop a flexible programme to help pupils bridge the transition from the Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 curriculum in English and mathematics.
It will also help to support pupils who need to catch-up in the first year of secondary education which might include attending summer literacy and numerary schools.
She said: ÒUntil now only about half the countryÕs schools have been able to run summer schools to boost pupilsÕ English and maths.
ÒWe are delighted to be able to increase the standards fund to extend this possibility to all schools as we promised we would do in our green paper earlier this year.
ÒTo achieve the best results, primary and secondary schools need to work together to plan a catch-up programme for every pupil who needs it from the last term of primary school to the end of their first year in secondary school.
ÒWe are giving schools the freedom to use their funding flexibly to achieve this Ð perhaps by employing extra teaching assistants or providing Easter schools instead of summer schools, for example.
ÒGood literacy and numerary skills are the foundation on which success is built, and it is essential that children do not miss out on the first year of secondary school because their English and maths skills do not allow them to keep up with the rest of the class.Ó
News of the additional grant money has been welcomed by both Mill ChaseÕs head teacher Tony Philpott and county education officer Andrew Seber.
Mr Philpott told The Herald that steps were already being taken by the Bordon school to improve the literacy and numeracy of year seven pupils at the school.
This has included targeting pupils that have fallen behind and giving them extra help during tutor time.
He said: ÒWe have been developing our own programme, for example we have had two summer schools so more money for things like that is really helpful.
ÒI am very supportive of this because we do a lot already and this extra money is welcome.Ó