A SOUTHAMPTON school is hoping it will be third time lucky after it was announced their dilapidated classrooms would be rebuilt – AGAIN.

The Department for Education has announced that money has been set aside to fund the rebuild of Bitterne Park Secondary School.

Last month the Daily Echo reported how plans to expand and improve the crumbling school campus had been shelved for a second time.

Plans to transform the school were first scrapped in 2010 before Bitterne Park was named as one of England’s 261 most dilapidated schools and promised help as a “priority” project.

Those were due to be funded through a private finance arrangement but that was dropped last month because of the continuing economic slump.

Now ministers have guaranteed Government cash so the rebuilds will be complete by 2017.

The announcement by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander was given a cautious welcome by Bitterne Park head teacher Susan Trigger who said: “We have been here before.”

She previously told of how the school, which is rated as “outstanding” by schools watchdog Ofsted, was “falling apart” due to asbestos and crumbling heating systems.

She added that in some classrooms children could put their feet through floors where previous flooding had occurred.

She said although the new money sounded promising she had had no contact from the Department for Education.

“I will be delighted if it is true, but we have been here before. We have not had any contact at all from the Department for Education so I don’t really know where this leaves us in terms of what we can start planning," she told the Daily Echo.

“I don’t know of any timescales or what exactly we are being promised and we need that. We have to have a plan as this affects so many other decisions we make between now and then.”

Southampton City Council Cabinet member for children’s services Sarah Bogle said: “This really is excellent news. I am extremely happy that there will be this scale of investment at Bitterne Park. I think the direct funding from the Government is a much better way to finance this project.”

Cllr Royston Smith said he made inquiries following the announcement that the private finance arrangement had been axed and was told the rebuilds would be funded in a different way.

He said: “I am pleased that everyone is now clear that the funding for this rebuild is in place. I am glad that has now happened. It is absolutely right we invest in schools like Bitterne Park.”

Mr Alexander said that the schools being brought forward will be contacted by the Education Funding Agency in the near future.

A Department for Education spokesman said the school might have to wait until late 2014 to hear when the revamp would start.