An extra Pounds 24 million a year has been found by the Assembly government to help local authorities repair and update Wales’s many crumbling schools.

The government already pays out Pounds 168 million per year for school improvements. But teacher representatives say it is not nearly enough to restore old schools. Dr Phil Dixon, director of teaching union ATL Cymru, said it was way below the amount of money needed to bring all schools in Wales up to scratch. A union survey showed 46 per cent of teachers said the condition of their school building was poor. School projects in Newport, Wrexham and Blaenavon will benefit most from new funding.