Shropshire education bosses have failed to secure more than £8 million needed to carry out their controversial schools merger plan.

The county council is one of only 15 authorities out of 148 in England not approved to receive a share from the Government’s £3.55 billion Primary Capital Programme fund.

But the Department for Children, Schools and Families says it will provide “tailored” professional advice to help the council make a bid for £8.45 million. 

Today Shirehall chiefs said they “fully expected” to obtain the money by January.

But leading school campaigners are calling for a “complete disclosure” of why the council has failed to obtain the funding at this stage and for a halt to merger proposals due to be discussed by the authority’s cabinet tomorrow.

The Shropshire Star yesterday revealed that the council is already facing a £3 million shortfall on plans to amalgamate the Oakland and Longmeadow primary schools at Bayston Hill, near Shrewsbury.

In total, cabinet will be asked to approve the merger of 14 schools to help control falling pupil numbers and agree the “federation” of two others.

Steve Barras, vice-chairman of governors at Morville School, near Bridgnorth, said it was “clearly very concerning” that Shropshire should find itself effectively in the bottom 10 per cent of councils that did not win funding approval.

“As the current round of primary closures and amalgamations, some of which remain contentious, appear to have been the basis of the council’s submission, it is important that a full explanation of the DCSF decision is forthcoming,” said Mr Barras.

“It is recognised that across the UK there are more deprived areas which the Government may have prioritised, but to find we are only one of 15 out of nearly 150 submissions that have failed to get approval is worrying.”

He will raise issue at a meeting of the Shirehall’s education watchdog tomorrow.

Carla Lowndes, a parent governor at Buildwas Primary, near Ironbridge, said she wanted a halt to the merger plans and for them to be considered by the independent policy commission currently examining ways of safeguarding the future of schools.

By Education Correspondent David Morris