Local parents, pupils and teachers have welcomed the Conservative U-Turn on the multi-million pound funding for the Bishop of Rochester Academy which had been threatened by Michael Gove, Secretary State for Education, when he announced National Building Schools for the Future funding cuts in June 2010.

Despite the fact that the Buildings Schools for the Future programme was totally fundable and costed, Gove pressed ahead with the announcement of BSF cuts in June, against best advice. He subsequently bungled the process and had to publish half a dozen list of cuts.

Hundreds of schools and academies were left with no security as to the future for pupils and staff.

Bishop of Rochester Academy had been threatened by the Conservatives, but due to pressure from cross-party campaigners, the local community was able to secure funding for the site. It is a credit to the headmaster of the Academy and all those who have been under immense stress over the last three months that they have remained firm.

Labour locally welcomes the continuation of funding. The bid and sponsor for the Academies were all secured under the previous Government and there were major concerns for the future of Medway pupils, many of whom live in some of the poorest areas of Southern England, that the funding would be scrapped by Conservatives. It was however the government of our MP, Tracey Crouch that

• Originally threatened the Bishop of Rochester Academy funding in June 2010, stating an incaccurate position that funding was unavailable
• Failed to apologise for the numerous BSF cuts list and the bungled process behind the allocation of funding for Acadamies. Failing to apologise for the stress caused to local staff, councils and head teachers who were left in the dark about future funding.
• Rushed and bungled the process of Consulation and review of schools, undermining internal procedure and threatening to divert BSF funding into the Conservative 'Free School' programme which is a poorly conceived scheme to privatise education.

The whole community celebrates the securing of funding for the Academy, but the community will remember that it was a Conservative Government that threatened the funding in the first place. The staff and sponsors of the Academy will remember the stress caused by this bungled process. Tory MPs taking the credit for stopping there own government cuts is ironic, but to not apologise to all those that have been placed under immense stress is very poor indeed.