TEMPORARY buildings at a north Shropshire primary school have been put before the Education Minister after being raised in parliament.

North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan spoke in the chamber to tell Education Minister Nick Gibb of how she recently learned on a visit to the Corbet School in Baschurch that 25 per cent of their teaching space is in old, demountable buildings – rather than permanent facilities for pupils and teachers to use.

The Liberal Democrat MP said: “I recently visited the Corbet School in my constituency, which is a secondary school, a small rural academy trust.

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“Now, it's a really well-run school, but 25 per cent of its teaching space is in old demountable buildings.

“I wonder if the minister would be able to tell me how small rural schools with only 750 pupils enrolled can better access that funding to improve the buildings that the pupils are taught in, to give them the same opportunities as pupils in more urban areas.”

Smaller and more rural secondary schools like the Corbet are disadvantaged by the current funding formula, as compared to their urban counterparts.

The North Shropshire MP has pledged to fight the corner of rural schools and demand a fairer deal from the government.

The Minister for Schools, replied: “We take into account the condition of any schools, buildings in the capital , funding that we give to either to the local authority or to the trust or diocesan group.

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“It's up to those bodies to decide how best to distribute that funding to meet local needs.

“All schools, including rural schools, had the opportunity to be nominated for the latest round of the School Rebuilding programme, which is rebuilding and refurbishing school buildings across the country.”