HEADTEACHERS at two high schools have set aside £310,000 to ensure they are able to pay for unexpected building costs at their new sites.

The heads at Our Lady and St John Catholic College and Witton Park High School, both in Blackburn, have put aside chunks of their budgets this year to cover any future additional costs they will incur as part of Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Building Schools for the Future scheme.

The schools are bound under a 25-year deal with private sector company Balfour Beatty.

As a ‘one off’ request Our Lady and St John Catholic College will be carrying over £180,000 and Witton Park High School will be taking £130,000 into the next financial year.

Council bosses said that the extra costs were needed to manage the transition and pay building maintenance bills under the BSF programme.

Witton Park High School must meet an additional £220,000 per year in the short term.

In a report to schools’ forum the school said it was working on ‘long term’ strategies to meet costs.

Meanwhile at Our Lady and St John Catholic Arts College, bosses will need to make adaptions to Blakewater College when they decant to the site in Shadsworth Road, Blackburn, while their site is developed.

Lancashire secretary for the NAHT, the national association which represents school heads and other education leaders, Tony Roberts, said: “The basic problem we had with BSF was that it was a Labour party initiative to get the private sector linked with the public sector.

“In philosophy it sounds all right but the downside, which schools are suffering from, is that they were locked into 25-year contracts.

“And had a ludicrous situation were one school could buy a chair from a recognised supplier for £9 but under the BSF scheme they were paying £40.”