Schools in and around Minehead will share nearly £850,000 of government funding in a bid to boost pupils’ performance. The former West Somerset area has been identified by the Department for Education (DfE) as one of 24 priority education investment areas (PEIAs) – parts of the UK with “high levels of disadvantaged pupils and low educational attainment”.

These 24 areas will share £42m in the coming year from the department, which will be used to fund programmes designed to boost pupils’ literacy and numeracy school, as well as raising attendance levels.

A total of £847,000 will be split between schools in the Minehead area – both those who are part of multi-academy trusts (MATs) and those still under local authority control.

A spokesman for Somerset Council said: “The funding for west Somerset is for the benefit of the schools in the area, which are all either local authority-maintained schools or those within either the Beacon Trust or the Bridgwater and Taunton College Trust.

“There is a partnership, led by the DfE with an independent chair, which oversees the plan for the area.”

The following schools are currently part of the Beacon Trust (also known as the West Somerset Academy Trust):

Danesfield Church of England School, B3191 North Road, Williton

King Edward Road Nursery, King Edward Road, Minehead

Minehead First School (including pre-school), Townsend Road, Minehead

Minehead Middle School, Ponsford Road, Minehead

Old Cleeve Church of England School (including Teddy Bears Nursery), Huish Lane, Washford

St. Michael’s Church of England First School, Watery Lane, Minehead

St Peter’s Church of England First School (inclduing nursery), Doniford Road, Williton

The Bridgwater and Taunton College Trust comprises seven schools – but only West Somerset College (located on the A39 Bircham Road, Minehead) lies within the west Somerset area.

West Somerset College will shortly benefit from the completion of a new £1m active travel route between Minehead and Dunster, making it easier for pupils to walk and cycle to and from school alongside the busy A39.

The funding follows the government’s schools white paper (which was published in 2022), and will be used for a range of measures designed to retain teachers in under-performing areas, tackling attendance and moving struggling schools into multi-academy trusts.

Baroness Barran of Bathwick, the government’s schools system minister, said: “We know the best multi-academy trusts deliver a great education and results for pupils, particularly the most disadvantaged and those with special education needs or disabilities (SEND).

“They help teachers manage workloads and create career opportunities by working as a family of schools. They spread their impact beyond their schools to the wider education system through initiatives like teaching school hubs, sharing a curriculum, and optimising the use of resources so that they can reinvest in their pupils.

“We are delighted with this package which will scale up the impact of high-quality multi-academy trusts and support the most disadvantaged pupils in the country, levelling up opportunities for all.”