Six schools in Oxfordshire have received cash for new classrooms under the government's drive to keep class sizes down.

The handout, totalling £433,077, will provide better accommodation for nearly 400 primary pupils in the county.

Schools which will benefit from the cash are Bishop Carpenter School, Banbury, which receives £80,000; Hornton County Primary School, near Banbury, which receives £42,000; Lewknor CE School receives £80,000; St Ebbe's First School, Oxford, receives £80,000; St Joseph's RC, Carterton, receives £93,000 and St Michael's CE, Steventon, receives £59,000.

County Education spokesman John Mitchell said: "One of the conditions of the bid was that they had to be built from proper bricks and mortar, not be mobiles,

"This is new money which is welcome and will really make a difference."

The cash for buildings comes on top of a previous allocation of more than £1m for Oxfordshire to appoint extra teachers to reduce class sizes. Sue Matthew, headteacher of St Ebbe's CE First School, Whitehouse Road, said: "We're absolutely delighted. We will be forming a new class in January.

"If we had not had a new class, all our infant classes would have been 36 each. With the new class, all our classes are going to be 30 or under. What we all know is that children, particulalrly young children, benefit from being in smaller classes."But she added that there was still progress to be made.

She said: "We have links with schools in Finland and Sweden - they would be amazed at even 30."

Jonathan Phillips, a governor at St Joseph's RC Primary School, Carterton, said they were thrilled the school was going to get extra money for a new classroom to help reduce class sizes.

He said: "Building work is going on during the summer to extend the library for temporary use as a seventh classroom. We will be able to use the library as a large resources area."

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