A collossal cash sum, thought to be tens of millions of pounds, is set to pour into the borough's education system with the creation of three academies.

It was revealed this week Hampton Community College (HCC), Shene School and Whitton School have been earmarked as independent, all-ability state schools supported by sponsors, with Shene set to also house a new two-form primary school as part of the development.

Swedish organisation Kunskapsskolan, which runs about 30 schools in the Nordic nation, and education foundation Edutrust have been lined up as sponsors with the Swedish firm working with HCC and Whitton and the British not for profit organisation linking up with Shene.

Schools minister Andrew Adonis was at HCC on Wednesday for the announcement and joined council leaders, the borough's MPs and school chiefs in welcoming the move.

Lord Adonis said the Government was ready to make a very large investment in the borough's schools and did so because good schools need good buildings.

He explained Kunskapsskolan was one of the leading education providers in Sweden and said Edutrust has a group of people with strong experience of the business world and a record of bringing the world of work into schools.

Much of the investment is set to be spent on redevelopment and Anders Hultin, from Kunskapsskolan, said he expected a full re-build of Whitton to be needed with more than half of HCC requiring refurbishment.

Sue Demont, principal at HCC and chair of the Richmond Secondary Heads Association, said school leaders across the borough were very positive about the news.

"We see exciting opportunities ahead," she added. "It is about giving the best opportunities to the young people of Richmond.

"The opportunity to work with educational experts from Sweden is going to be fantastic for HCC and Whitton and I know Edutrust will be great for Shene.

"I want to speak on behalf of all three schools to say how excited we are with this."

Councillor Malcolm Eady, Richmond Council cabinet member for education and children's services, said it was a fantastic opportunity with millions of pounds available for development and the expertise of two organisations who have valuable skills in the field of education.

"We are very excited to be joining forces with these top class organisations. They both believe in strong partnerships with local education establishments and with the community," he added.