hrobinson@thekmgroup.co.uk

One million pounds has been earmarked to help improve standards at the Hundred of Hoo School.

The school is eligible for the funding during the next two years after it was announced earlier this week that it has been accepted as a National Challenge Trust school.

It is one of seven schools nationallly to be awarded funding by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

National Challenge Trust status enables councils to raise standards in schools where replacement with an independent Academy would not be the best option.

It is designed for schools where fewer than 30 per cent of students are achieving five or more A* to C grades at GCSE level, including English and maths. In 2008, only 26 per cent of pupils at the Hundred of Hoo achieved this standard, compared to 46.6 per cent nationally and locally.

Only this week Ofsted inspectors placed the school in special measures after raising concerns with governance and leadership at the school and pupil achievement.

Dr Gary Holden, head of Rochester Math School who has been appointed as executive head at the Hundred of Hoo School, said: "This is essentially great news for the school because it means over the next two years £1 million will be available to spend on improvements in the school.

"The Hundred of Hoo School was identified as not meeting the 30 per cent benchmark or if they met the benchmark children were still under achieving in terms of their potential.

"Becoming a Trust will enable local partners to get together to further support the school by appointing a new governing body and draw down the funding to bring about improvements in teaching, learning and leadership in the school to ensure children thrive and achieve."