GIRLS at Bury Grammar School could be heading for a major UN conference in Johannesburg.

They are taking part in a North West competition to design the ideal school for the year 2050.

The Schoolbuilding competition is being staged by Sustainability Northwest, a regional agency dedicated to environmental and social progress, and being run as part of the 2002 Northwest Festival of Skills and Learning.

The BGS pupils, who study design and technology, will have to take into account issues such as climate change, fighting poverty, reducing water use and more efficient use of natural resources.

Mr Derek Jones, the school's head of design and technology, said: "It is good to see environmental issues, and in particular sustainability, back on the education agenda.

"I am sure our pupils will appreciate the opportunities presented by this project and begin to produce intuitive and original solutions to designing the school of the future."

A panel of North West architects, constructors, engineers and sustainability experts will judge the designs, with the winners announced by the end of March.

The winning teams will each select a representative to go to the UN World Summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg in August.

Miss Caroline Thompson, headteacher at BGS (Girls), said: "University departments now employ futurists to predict and shape how we will be living in the next 50 years, but students are rarely invited to involve themselves in this fascinating field.

"This competition presents them with a unique opportunity to combine an exploration of ecological issues with the study of the rapidly changing worlds of technology and education, and then to translate their ideas and investigations into a design brief for the ideal school of the future.

"What better way could there be of combining scientific and technical know-how with the aesthetics and practicalities of environmentally sensitive design? The students here have thoroughly enjoyed this multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving and are enthusiastic to take it further."