EDUCATION bosses are pushing ahead with plans to revamp secondary education in Burnley and Pendle after moving to ease fears over how places are allocated.

Lancashire County Council has unveiled the plans it hopes will win approval from its cabinet next week -- paving the way for £170million of Government money to be used to overhaul the area's high schools. But there are still concerns in some areas that sending pupils to schools based on where they live will do nothing to ease racial divisions in Burnley schools.

The origins of the school revamp

- in which eight existing high schools will be turned into five schools - are in the Burnley Task Force report following the Burnley riots in 2001.

The report said more had to be done to prevent white and Asian communities living in isolation. Now county education bosses insist the only way of making each of the new schools viable is to create catchment areas.

Critics, including Burnley Council, had claimed that a catchment area scheme would not end the divisive system of schools having either Asian or white pupils. Councillors even passed a motion in July calling for the county council not to press ahead with geographical catchment areas.

But the county council has now changed some of its ideas, including moving the preferred locations of some schools, to ease those fears.

Alan Whittaker, Lancashire's education boss, said the move was aimed at creating stronger links with the community, and pledged the schools would work with each other to promote community cohesion.

He added: "These proposals have altered following consultation. We have listened to what people have said and have drawn up what we think are the best possible proposals for Burnley."

Under the new plans, Burnley has been divided into four quarters with each "quarter" housing a new school. Children will have to go to the school which serves their quarter.

In all, four new community high schools,

a RC high school and a community college for 16 to 19 year olds will all be created in Burnley, while two new high schools will be created in the Nelson area of Pendle.

They would replace the eight existing high schools in Burnley, and two in the Nelson area.

Today former Mayor of Burnley and Daneshouse with Stoneyholme ward councillor Rafique Malik warned against catchment areas.

He said: "I think people should be allowed to choose where to send their children. If people from one area do not like the school their children are sent to they will move, as has happened in other towns."

However Labour and Lib Dem councillors on Burnley Council today said they felt the changes, and the way in which the catchment area boundaries had been drawn up, had addressed their earlier fears.

In Pendle, Mansfield and Edge End Highs will merge and form a new school ultimately to be based on playing fields at Bent Head to serve West Nelson and Brierfield

And East Nelson will be served by a new school developed on the Walton High School site.

Each of the new community high schools will have 1,050 places, and the new RC high school will cater for 1,250 pupils.

No plans have been included for a Church of England secondary school. Pupils from Burnley will have to continue travelling to either St Christopher's CE in Accrington, or St Wilfrid's in Blackburn.