SIX of Bolton’s most deprived secondary schools earmarked for multi-million pound improvements can be revealed for the first time.

Westhoughton High, Bolton Muslim Girls School and Sharples High would be completely rebuilt in an £82 million scheme.

And Little Lever, Smithills and Ladybridge schools would have either new buildings added or undergo major refurbishments.

The ambitious plans are reliant on the success of a bid by Bolton Council for Government cash to transform education standards across the borough. If successful, education chiefs will launch two further bids of £100 million which could see four more secondary schools rebuilt and nine improved.

The money would come from the Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, a £300 billion fund to improve educational standards. Bolton is working alongside Blackburn with Darwen Council to unlock hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in local education.

An earlier £80 million bid to improve primary schools was approved just last week.

Speaking after the council’s cabinet gave officers the go-ahead for the £82 million bid for secondary schools, Cllr Ebrahim Adia, executive member for children’s services, said: “We’re very excited about this bid.

“If we are successful it will mean that six schools will have their buildings transformed.

“We’re in a competitive bidding situation with other local authorities, but we feel that we have got a very strong bid and are very hopeful that this will result in much better learning accommodation for the children at these schools.”

Bolton’s chances of a successful bid have been improved by the council teaming up with Blackburn with Darwen Council to form a Joint Local Education Partnership.

Blackburn has already received BSF money to build new schools and Bolton will be able to draw on its officers’ expertise to speed up the process — something the Government is keen for councils to do.

A decision on the secondary schools money will be made by the Government in March.