A £150 MILLION project to overhaul Blackburn with Darwen's secondary schools has been dealt a huge blow after missing out on Government funding.

The council had hoped it would be included in either the second or third phase of the national Building Schools for the Future programme, announced today.

But schools minister David Miliband left the authority out of both phases - meaning any major changes to secondary school provision in Blackburn with Darwen won't take place until 2009 at the earliest.

Phase two money would have been given to the council as early as 2006. However, the announcement will not delay the planned opening of the new Darwen Academy in 2007.

But it could affect a new school building at Queen's Park Technology College, which is due to close in March and re-open under a new name in a bid to sort out its poor educational achievements.

And to soften the blow, Blackburn with Darwen has been given £6million to spend over three years to improve schools, and another £4million to move St Stephens' infants and junior schools in Little Harwood to a new site.

Dave Hollings, councillor in charge of education at Blackburn with Darwen, said he was 'bitterly disappointed by the decision not to support the secondary revolution in Blackburn with Darwen.

Schools minister David Miliband said the borough had lost out because of the complex needs-based league table the government had drawn up. It is based on levels of deprivation and educational underachievement.

But the Government has pledged that every education authority in the country will receive a share of cash by 2011.

And the fact Blackburn with Darwen's educational standards have been rising -- it was named of the country's most improved education authorities for GCSE results in September -- appears to have gone against it.

Schools Minister David Miliband said: "The decision on which authorities went into the latest phases of the Building Schools for the Future programme was made on a combination of socio-economic and educational need.

"Blackburn missed out because other authorities scored more highly on educational and socio-economic. We made a composite index based partly on pre-school make take-up and GCSE results.

"Blackburn with Darwen did not score highly enough but will still be receiving money by 2015 will either be in the BSF programme or have at least one new school started building and at least three schools under-going major remodelling."

Inclusion in either wave would have allowed for more detailed work to begin on revamping the borough's nine high schools into 'schools fit for the 21st century.'

Under the scheme, the council would have first had to draw up a strategy for standards improvement, which would have to be approved before any detailed design plans for each school could be worked on. Coun Hollings said: "This money would have made a real difference and we are bitterly disappointed not to have got it.

"We think we must have lost out because educationally we have been improving and there does appear to be a bias towards larger local education authorities. We will be talking to the Government to find out when we will benefit.

"We are however please about the £6million and the £4million for St Stephen's."

The first phase, announced earlier this year, included a £150million shake-up of secondary schools in Burnley and parts of Pendle.