EDUCATION in East Lancashire received a multi-million pound boost today as the government pledged to raise standards in schools and set up after-school clubs.

Lancashire County Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council won an £8 million share of the money in School Improvement Grants to be allocated in 2000/2001.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has won another £1million to spend over five years as part of the government's New Opportunities Fund to encourage out-of-school-hours learning

The school improvement money is part of a government drive to raise standards in education and represents a £40 million increase on the amount of money allocated this year.

Blackburn with Darwen will receive a grant of more than £1 million while Lancashire will get just over £7 million in the scheme.

A county spokesman said: "We welcome the announcement of additional grants for school improvement. This will mean an additional £900,000 will be spent improving Lancashire schools."

The new opportunities money will pay for the setting up of a series of after-school clubs. Blackburn with Darwen already runs literacy and numeracy programmes, homework centres and the Blackburn Rovers Study Centre. The borough has also launched a special school for gifted children during the summer holiday period and has recently secured funding for the Bright Sparks Club, an after-school scheme for 10 and 11-year-olds from Queen's Park High School and four primaries. Education committee chairman Coun Bill Taylor said: "This is another example of Blackburn with Darwen Council leading the field in attracting external funding to improve the future educational opportunities for young people in the borough.

"These funds will help to ensure that children and young people in primary and secondary schools will be able to participate in a wide range of new and extended learning experiences."

School Standards Minister Estelle Morris said education authorities could get even more money next year.

She said: "We want to find ways of rewarding success and next year the grant will be allocated using a formula which rewards those authorities who have been successful in turning their failing schools around.

"This is a government all about raising standards and much of the focus of the last two years has been on raising standards in schools. With the right leadership and committed teachers, schools can achieve much."

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