Millions of dollars will be handed to some of the nation’s elite private schools, which will receive government funding for capital works for the first time.

DEPUTY Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her education juggernaut continued their cash splash around the nation yesterday, announcing more than $3billion for primary schools in NSW, Western Australia and the ACT.

The handouts followed $3.1bn for new libraries, halls and refurbished classrooms given to schools in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia on Tuesday.

Millions of dollars will be handed to some of the nation’s elite private schools, which will receive government funding for capital works for the first time.

In NSW, 1354 primary schools were granted $2.3bn while West Australian schools received $579 million and ACT schools were handed $140m.

In the round of funding announced yesterday, schools receiving the maximum handout of $3m included Ascham at Edgecliff in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, which has schooled children of some of the nation’s wealthiest including Gretel Packer, as well as Cranbrook at Bellevue Hill, attended by James Packer.

Knox Prep at Wahroonga on Sydney’s north shore received $3m while Moriah College, a Jewish school at Bondi Junction, was granted more than $2.2m to replace demountables with six classrooms and almost $800,000 for an early learning centre at Rose Bay.

Newington received almost $3m across its two primary school campuses and Scots College at Bellevue Hill also received $3m. Ravenswood School for girls on the north shore received $2.5m and the pin-up for rich private schools, The King’s School at Parramatta, was granted $2.5m.

In Western Australia, Scotch College at Swanbourne received $2.5m as did PLC at Peppermint Grove.

Elite Catholic schools Aquinas College at Manning was granted $2m and Iona Presentation College and primary school at Mosman Park received more than $3m across two campuses.

After visiting schools in Victoria and Queensland on Tuesday to announce the first round of funding, Ms Gillard visited Eastwood Public School in northwestern Sydney in John Howard’s old seat to announce the NSW funding, accompanied by local member Maxine McKew and Premier Nathan Rees. Asked how the Rudd government could justify handing out millions of dollars to wealthy private schools, Ms Gillard said the Rudd government was ensuring students from all sectors and all parts of the country were learning in 21st-century facilities.

Ms Gillard said every school would benefit under the program, with more than 70 per cent of the funds going to public schools, 19 per cent to Catholic schools and 11 per cent to independent schools.

“There is nothing more important to the future of this country than the quality of our schools,” she said.

“This is a program for all schools. We said we wanted to make a difference in every school and every community.”

Credit: Justine Ferrari, John Stapleton