Kent County Council must be given another chance to persuade the government that it should fund school rebuilding projects that were axed last year.

A judge has ordered the Secretary of State Michael Gove to allow the council to make its case for the axed schemes to go ahead in a ruling that will come as a blow to the government.

KCC and five other councils had challenged the Department for Education over its decision to scrap the Building Schools for The Future (BSF) programme.

In a High Court ruling, Mr Justice Holman said the Secretary of State had acted unlawfully: "In my view, the way in which the Secretary of State abruptly stopped the projects in relation to which... approval had already been given, without any prior consultation with the five claimants, must be characterised as being so unfair as to amount to an abuse of power."

There was no "overriding public interest" which justified the lack of consultation and the decision process was unlawful, he added.

The original decision meant dozens of projects in Kent for redeveloping secondary schools were ditched last year despite several million pounds having been spent.

Hartsdown Technology College, Margate, was one of dozens of schools to miss out on new buildings when the government axed the BSF programme last summer.

Students lobbied the government to rethink its decision and the school has already asked architects to draw up a cheaper alternative to its original rebuilding scheme in the hope of a government U-turn.

Tony Davies, vice principal at Hartsdown, said: "Our children deserve to go to school in buildings with windows and roofs that don't leak and to have an educational experience that's inspiring. While our teachers provide that, at the moment our buildings don't.

Audio: Tony Davies, vice principal at Hartsdown, on the decision

"Today's announcement is a ray of hope and we're cautiously optimistic. The government has been told to reconsider but they could still come back with exactly the same decision.

"They will have to look at each project on merit and we think that, together with our partners at Foreland School, we have a very strong case."

In his ruling, Justice Holman ordered the government to "reconsider the position of each of the claimants with an open mind and paying due regard to whatever representations they may respectively make.

But provided he discharges that duty and his equality duties, the final decision on any given school or project still rests with him.

He may save all, some, a few, or none. No one should gain false hope from this decision."

The ruling gives a glimmer of hope that KCC could yet save some of the axed schemes in Thanet and Gravesham.

However, the judge ruled against the councils’ argument that the original decision to ditch the BSF scheme was irrational and that they had a legitimate expectation they would proceed.

KCC spent millions drawing up projects to re-build schools in Thanet, Gravesham, Dover, Shepway and Swale.

Money was paid to architects, designers, surveyors and lawyers in accordance with what the government required.

In figures disclosed to the KM Group under the Freedom of Information Act, KCC said it spent £3.7m on consultants for cancelled schemes in Thanet and Gravesham; £2.9m on 16 schemes in Dover and Shepway and £150,000 on proposals for schools in Sittingbourne.

In a statement, the DfE said: "We are delighted that the judge did not call into question the decision to end the wasteful and bureaucratic Building Schools for the Future programme.

"On the substantive points he concluded that it was a rational decision and that the authorities involved had no expectation of being allowed to proceed with their projects."

Leader of Kent County Council Paul Carter said: "The decision to go to judicial review was not taken lightly.

"We proceeded after we had exhausted all other options. We have a duty to act in the best interests of the residents of Kent, our teachers, taxpayers and, most importantly, our young people.

"We welcome today's ruling by the judge and the fact that we have won our judicial review claim.

"We now have the opportunity to work constructively with Secretary of State Michael Gove for the much-needed investment in the 14 schools that were particularly affected by the decision - and seek to remove any ongoing liabilities to Kent's council tax payers."