THREE schools in the borough are to receive a boost of almost £500,000 each after being awarded specialist school status.

Bury Church of England High School has been selected to specialise in humanities, Castlebrook High School in Unsworth will become a science and technology centre, and Woodhey High School in Ramsbottom will become a specialist science college.

Education Minister Jacqui Smith announced the awards in the House of Commons.

The approval means that each school will receive almost extra £500,000 each over the next three years, from September, to invest in learning.

Specialist schools have a focus on their chosen subject area but must meet the full National Curriculum requirements and deliver a broad and balanced education to pupils.

As centres of excellence in their chosen subject fields, they work within a named "family of schools" for the benefit of pupils beyond their own school boundaries and other groups of people in the wider community.

The move also means that Bury is close to securing specialist status in all of its 15 high schools - a feat only achieved by seven out of 150 local education authorities across the country.

Mr John Gannon, headteacher at Castlebrook High, said: "It is a big boost for the school and we are delighted.

"The new status will allow us to develop the science and technology curriculum areas much more broadly than we have previously been able to.

"We have also fostered industrial links which will allow us to develop courses in construction and science and get more pupils involved in these areas.

"We will be able to extend our curriculum developments into the community and expand some of the work we do with local primary schools, so the award will benefit people on a wider scale than just the school."

Mr Phil Grady, headteacher of Bury Church of England High School, said: "This is something weve been working towards for at least 12 months.

"We wanted a specialism in R.E particularly, so we applied for the humanities status because we feel that fits in best with the church school ethos.

"It is a tremendous boost for us, working both within the school and with the community and neighbouring schools."

Mr Martin Braidley, headteacher at Woodhey High School, said: "This is absolutely wonderful, and marks a lot of hard work by people both inside and outside school.

"It will provide us with opportunities we would not normally have under the funding given to us by the Government.

"We can extend our provisions in both science and maths, and will get new facilities as a result. This will also benefit five of our feeder primary schools with whom we are working closely, and we can also extend extra-curricular activities around these areas. We are absolutely delighted."

Councillor Maggie Gibb, Bury Councils Executive Member for Children and Young People, said: "This is wonderful news for each of the schools. It is a tribute to months, if not years, of hard work by school staff, parents, governors and students in terms of preparing their schools and raising their own funding.

"I am delighted that Bury now has a total of 13 specialist schools working together to share their expertise in their specialist subject areas and helping to spread academic success right across the borough."