Four Bolton schools are in line for important investment to tackle issues ranging from their roofs to the safety of staff and students.

The Department for Education announced the allocation of its Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) for almost 120 schools in the North West and more than 800 schools nationwide this week.

The schools in the North West are to receive a total of £62 million and these include Bolton Sixth Form College, St Bede Academy, Harper Green School and Rivington and Blackrod School.

The issues range from their roofs, in the case of Bolton Sixth Form College and St Bede Academy, to the safety of staff and students, in the case of Harper Green and Rivington and Blackrod. Harper Green, in Farnworth, has issues with its roof too.

ALSO READ: Six Bolton schools in line for major works over the summer.

The schools reassured The Bolton News the wording of a Department for Education document referring to the risk of "school closures" and "safety concerns" was not a reflection of the real risk.

They said there is no disruption to education as a result.

Sarah Rostron, chief operating officer at St Bede Academy's Quill C of E Trust, said: "We are pleased to be allocated funding from the CIF. This is a significant boost for our school and we are grateful for the opportunity to improve our infrastructure.

"The CIF will enable us to undertake the refurbishments to ensure our school remains a safe, secure, and inspiring place for learning."

ALSO READ: Bolton's RAAC schools to be rid of concrete at risk of collapse.

Carol Davies, chief finance officer at Harper Green and Rivington and Blackrod's Leverhulme C of E Trust, said: "We are delighted our schools were successful in securing over £1 million in funding through the CIF.

"This funding will support ongoing improvement projects across our schools, further enhancing the learning environments for students.

"The allocated funds will enable the installation of new fire doors at Rivington and Blackrod School and support the continuation of the replacement roof project and installation of new fencing at Harper Green School. 

"These successful bids demonstrate our proactive approach to maintenance of our assets, strengthening safety measures for the future across the trust and safeguarding our pupils. The investment now will reduce possible costs of repairs in the forthcoming years, allowing us to spend our resources on the pupils."

ALSO READ: Thomasson Memorial Special School to be rebuilt from scratch.

The CIF is allocated to sixth form colleges, small multi-academy trusts and small voluntary-aided schools based on an assessment of their condition.

It is separate to the Schools Condition Allocation which is allocated to local authorities, large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary-aided schools.

Bolton Council's cabinet member for children's services Martin Donaghy approved the use of Schools Condition Allocation at six schools (Blackrod Primary School, Claypool Primary School, Devonshire Road Primary School, Spindle Point Primary School, Green Fold Special School, Westhoughton High School) at the start of this month.

Separately, Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) is to be removed from six schools (Canon Slade School, St Andrew's CE Primary School, St Bernard's RC Primary School, St Stephen and All Martyrs CE Primary School, St William of York RC Primary School, Thornleigh Salesian College) after an announcement last month.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.