James Dyson’s £6m donation to primary school approved despite concerns

Reports suggest many of the 3,500 employees at Dyson’s UK headquarters in Malmesbury, pictured, would like to send their children to the school. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

A £6m donation from Sir James Dyson to help fund the expansion of his local state primary school has been approved by the government, despite concerns about the potential impact on neighbouring schools.

The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, announced on Monday that she had given the green light for the inventor’s donation to Malmesbury Church of England primary school in Wiltshire, which is close to Dyson’s research and development campus.