A CASH boost of almost £1-million is being celebrated by Tavistock College following the renewal of its specialist language college status.
The approval by the Department for Education and Science means funds of around £800,000 will be made available to the college over the next four to five years.
John Simes, principal, said the news was 'a wonderful achievement' by teachers and students at the college: ' A lot of this money goes towards our classrooms of the future. It really does make a tremendous difference to all departments at the school.
'The whole curriculum will become international and it means our programme of exchanges and visits can continue.'
Mr Simes said the investment, at around £200,000 per year, also ensured the continuation and expansion of Tavistock College On Line, whereby students could study from home, via the internet.
News of the specialist language college status renewal comes hot on the heels of an announcement that the first phase of a multi-million pound programme of improvements at the college is due to start.
The bumper education package will see £2-million invested in the college over the next three years, with £100,000 being spent this year on the planning phase of the school remodelling project.
It means the 'temporary' classrooms that have stood for so long at the school will eventually be replaced by new accommodation, plus a purpose-built international block.
Mr Simes said: 'The new, state of the art building will be networked with new IT suites, interactive whiteboards, with teachers having all of their administrative needs met by technology.'
Many former pupils would remember the 'temporary' classrooms which had stood for so long, he said.
'What really pleases me is that we will be able to offer our wonderful students and dedicated teachers some first class conditions for teaching and learning,' said Mr Simes.
He paid tribute to the hard work put in by all who had campaigned for so long for improved investment in the school.
John Burnett, MP for West Devon and Torridge, said he was 'disappointed' that physical work at the college would not actually start until next year: 'The work is still on programme to start next year and I shall be doing everything to ensure that this will happen.
'I congratulate the school on the renewal of their language college status. They deserve this extra investment — it's a tribute to the staff, students and governors for their hard work.'
Roy Connelly, Tavistock's county councillor, said the language status news was 'marvellous'.
He said: 'It confirms the excellent work that has been going on in previous years and takes us forward a further four years. It's great news.'
The county council's investment at Tavistock College is part of a record-breaking £100 million, three-year improvement programme aimed at updating schools and agreed at county hall last week.
Schemes will be phased according to availability of funding, with specific allocations being announced each year.
John Hart, the county's executive chairman for schools, said: 'This is a really exciting programme. We have already made considerable progress towards tackling the backlog, but this massive spending boost will enable us to make even more progress and to put in place school buildings which are worthy of the 21st century.'