The former MP of Barrow has urged the education secretary to follow the town's lead on providing summer education for pupils.

John Woodcock has called on Gavin Williamson to adopt a whole-community approach when considering summer plans for pupils to help them catch up on learning lost to the pandemic.

Writing for Schools Week, Lord Walney said: “This week I have written to Mr Williamson to urge him to consider the kind of whole-community approach we developed so in Barrow-in-Furness when I was the town’s MP.

“We founded the Furness Future Leaders’ Academy to address entrenched problems of poor education attainment and low ambition that have long held back young people in this area of Cumbria. The pilot summer school ran successfully from 2014 until it was paused during the pandemic.

“Each year, we asked primary school teachers to identify students from a range of ability levels who they thought would benefit from the confidence boost of extra tuition. Our focus was on improving soft skills while learning in an alternative setting."

Lord Walney said the initiative was helped by local businesses including The Mail, BAE and Ørsted, as well as Cumbria County Council and others who gave the academy monetary support and staff.

He added: “The only way we have a chance of bringing children back up to speed and supporting them in their recovery from this dreadful 12 months is to involve the whole community. Barrow has done this successfully for a number of years now.

“My hope is that we can help others across the country do the same for their kids too."