A £12 million Government grant to revamp Bristol's primary schools will help drive up standards, says the councillor in charge of education in the city.

Clare Campion-Smith, Lib Dem cabinet member for children and young people, said: "This announcement is good news for Bristol, boosting our existing programme of investment in rebuilding and refurbishing schools.

"We want to give our children good quality classrooms and outside play space, so they enjoy school. This is part of our work to drive up standards and maintain them.

"At secondary level, Bristol is already being held up nationally as an example of good practice for its development of first class schools, purpose built to suit the needs of modern teaching and learning.

"At primary level, we are still at the early stages of the redevelopment process, but we fully intend to deliver good learning environments."

News of the Primary Capital Programme funding was reported by the Bristol Post on Friday.

It will be put towards new schools in St Paul's (Cabot), Whitehall, Millpond and Sea Mills; amalgamations in Lawrence Weston and Victoria Park and improvements at Elmlea Infants, Bankleaze and Parson Street primaries.

These are all schemes in the first phase of the citywide Primary Review, carried out last year.

The handout was delayed in November after Ministers expressed concerns about the city council's strategy for improving educational performance for children aged four to 11.

But the Department for Children, Schools and Families, which sent in a team to help the authority revise its proposals, is now happy with the strategy underpinning the city's £46 million three-year programme for primary school buildings.

Bristol was one of 15 local authorities out of 148 whose bids were held up last year because they were felt to need further work.

The city, led at the time by a minority Labour administration, had based its Primary Review on a range of factors including reducing surplus places and creating extra places in areas of need, as well as creating schools fit for the 21st century in an effort to help drive up attainment.

But the Conservatives challenged this approach, saying the council should simply shut down the worst-performing schools.

A month ago, the Liberal Democrats took control of the local authority. They have said their first priority is to tackle the shortage of school places in some areas of the city.

Schools Minister Jim Knight said: "This is great news for Bristol. Their bid now fully meets our criteria and we are able to release funds to transform primary school buildings in the city. This is part of a £7 billion investment to rebuild or refurbish half of all primary and primary-age special schools by 2022-23.

"A decade ago many classroom facilities were in an appalling condition. Children deserve the best facilities that we can build and teachers deserve better classrooms to work in. Schools are now being revolutionised by the biggest, sustained capital invest for 50 years – benefiting every single primary, secondary, academy and special school in England and Bristol primary schools are now part of this."