EDUCATION Secretary Gavin Williamson was put on the spot when he toured a Blackburn primary school.

And he found a couple of would-be Prime Ministers waiting in the wings when he visited Redeemer CE Primary, in Fernhurst.

Mr Williamson was grilled on everything from his “philosophy for education” to where he saw himself in three years’ time by the keen minds of Year 6 pupils at the Jack Walker Way school.

The South Staffordshire MP was in town in the wake of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement of £14 billion funding increase for the education system by 2022-23.

Part of the spending hike, an estimated £700million, will be directed towards special educational needs.

He told the Lancashire Telegraph that Redeemer, with its extra support for youngsters with additional needs, was a “great example” of integrated learning.

The minister also insisted the funding announcement was aimed at benefitting frontline learning and not just paying for building developments.

Mr Williamson said: “This is not about capital funding - we are focused on how to get money into the classroom.

“This money is about supporting our most important assets, which are teachers, and what they can do to benefit our schools. There will be a capital (funding) round in future and it must be noted that we have created one million extra school places over the past nine years."

Blackburn MP Kate Hollern has previously slammed the government’s spending review as “an election stunt” and expressed concerns regarding funding being “frozen” for sixth forms and further education since 2013.

Later Mr Williamson, accompanied by Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson, also toured Nelson and Colne College, consistently rated within the top one per cent of sixth forms nationally. College bosses say they raised the issue of “appropriate funding” for FE colleges and T-Levels during his visit.