PLANS to bulldoze three Pendle high schools and replace them with two new state-of-the-art schools have gone out to public consultation.

Pupils across Pendle will be given a booklet outlining the proposals for secondary schools in Nelson and Brierfield this week.

They form part of Lancashire County Council's bid for funding from the Government's Building Schools for the Future programme.

The main part of the bid is to transform secondary education in Burnley by knocking down its eight high schools to make way for five new ones for 11-16 year olds and a new sixth form centre.

But the county council decided last year that because of the cross-border flow of pupils between schools in Burnley and the Pendle the proposals should also include Edge End and Walton high schools, Nelson, and Mansfield, Brierfield.

The authority plans to build new schools on the existing sites of Edge End, although other sites are being considered, and in Walton. Both would take 1,050 pupils and would include a learning support unit. A school for children with learning difficulties is also planned for the Walton site. The booklet includes a questionnaire for parents and interested members of the public to fill in.

There will also be three open evenings at the schools in June to give people a chance to talk with county council officers.

County councillor Alan Whittaker, cabinet member for education, said: "We are always accused of having already making our minds up, but I assure people we haven't. We want to hear what parents and the public thinks of these proposals before we go any further."

Jack Bennett, director of projects for the council, added that although only three Pendle schools were included this time, the other four schools would form part of a bid for the next wave of funding under the Government programme.

He said: "This is not just about buildings, this is about creating a new education vision which we hope to roll out to the rest of East Lancashire in the near future."