AN ILKLEY Grammar School bid for much-needed major expansion and refurbishment work has failed to win Government funding.

The oversubscribed school heard this week that its bid for a share of millions in funding under the Priority School Building Programme had been unsuccessful – leaving the school with “dilapidated” buildings and struggling to meet the needs of a growing student population.

The school on Cowpasture Road, which took Education Secretary Nicky Morgan on a tour of its cramped facilities in December, had hoped to replace older buildings on its site, and build eight more classrooms and a lecture theatre.

None of the eight Bradford district schools put forward for major work were included in the latest wave of Government funding.

A councillor has now stressed the need to lobby the Government for a halt to new housing development in the Ilkley area until the infrastructure is in place to provide for additional families.

Ilkley Grammar’s headteacher, Helen Williams, said she heard on Monday the bid was unsuccessful. She said: “Although we appreciate that funding for PSBP2 is limited, we were hopeful our bid would be successful due to the extent of our need.

“The bid focussed on the replacement of our dilapidated blocks. The funding would have financed not only replacement buildings, but would also have provided additional space, including eight more classrooms and a lecture theatre, which would have also helped meet our need for expansion given the increased numbers in our feeder primary schools.”

The rejection of funding bids from all the Bradford district schools which applied was condemned by a prominent Bradford councillor as a “betrayal”.

Councillor Ralph Berry, the executive member for children’s services at the Labour-run Council, said: “I’m outraged and appalled by this. Some of these buildings are not fit for purpose.

“I’m shocked by the utter betrayal of these schools. I can’t for the life of me believe Ilkley and Queensbury in particular have missed out.”

Ilkley’s Conservative MP, Kris Hopkins, said he would continue pressing for funding for Ilkley Grammar.

He said: “I have long been a vocal advocate for Ilkley Grammar to receive much-needed new investment, and have accompanied the current Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, and her predecessor, Michael Gove, on visits to the school. I will continue to make the case using every avenue open to me until this funding is forthcoming.”

A DofE spokesman said it had chosen which schools to fund by prioritising “where the poor condition is most highly concentrated and urgent; where the continued operation of the school is most at risk” and by cost to improve schools.

Councillor Adrian Naylor (Ind, Craven) says a case needs to be put to the Government for restricting major house building in the Wharfe Valley until secondary schools places provision has been addressed.