WORN OUT South Gloucestershire schools are in line for more cash to help put them back in shape.

Over the next three years they are already set to receive at least £21.5million for updating facilities and buildings and even creating entirely new schools.

Now Conservatives on South Gloucestershire Council say the investment could be even higher if the council backs their plans to increase funding.

Councillors have been given a list of "priority" school schemes totalling £50 million.

Cllr Sheila Cook, executive member for Children and Young People, said: "We should be in a position as a council to invest at least £21.5million in schools over the next three years which will help address our chronic backlog of repairs.

"However, with more than £50 million worth of priority schemes even this will not be enough and some schools will have to wait longer for the investment than they should have to."

She added: "I want to see what investment is made is spread fairly across South Gloucestershire so that schools serving as many communities as possible benefit. Although it will not be possible to see every school brought up to the standards I would like to believe that this investment should be able to see at least ten schools have a major project achieved ranging from new sports facilities to an entire new school."

Cllr Cook said the Tory group would be seeking to persuade the rest of the council to provide additional resources to top up the investment programme to support at least one extra school improvement scheme.

"A particular priority for me is to allocate sufficient money to fund a new school in the Pilning area so that if the local community decides to support a merger between Redwick amd Northwick and Pilning schools on a new site they have a cast iron guarantee that the funding is in place to build a new school," she said.

Conservative group leader Cllr John Calway has already promised that he will be campaigning for nearly £3million to go to Trinity School in Acton Turville.

He said: "Having seen the school I firmly believe that they have an urgent need for replacement buildings which simply cannot be ignored. I will do everything in my power to support and promote this school's case for funding because I believe it is in genuine need of being made a priority for investment."

The Gazette reported in January that Trinity Primary School is in urgent need of modernisation as pupils are forced to share meagre facilities often in the cold and damp and youngsters had been fed cold fish fingers after kitchen equipment failed.