The leader of Sandwell Council has told of his devastation after the Government said it would not fund projects to rebuild crumbling schools.

Sandwell Council was among six local authorities which fought a High Court battle against the Government’s decision to scrap the £55 billion Building Schools for the Future (BSF) scheme last summer.

Hopes were raised when the authority, which had been earmarked £125 million to rebuild nine secondary schools, won a judicial review, but Education Secretary Michael Gove has now told the borough the BSF scheme would not be restored.

Council leader Coun Darren Cooper said: “This is not the end.

“We intend to see if there is any more we can do to fight this injustice and we will use every means at our disposal.

“This is a bitter, bitter blow for the young people in Sandwell.

“The decision is a disgrace and shows just how much this Government cares for ordinary hard-working families and their children.”

Under BSF, every secondary school in England was due to be rebuilt or refurbished.

Mr Justice Holman ruled that Mr Gove had unlawfully failed to consult the councils before imposing the cuts.

In five of the cases the failure was “so unfair as to amount to an abuse of power”, the judge said.

He ruled that Mr Gove should reconsider his decision, but added that any final judgment over the future of the projects remained with the Government.