A MULTI-million pound bid to fund a state-of-the art "super school" in Radcliffe has failed.

Education bosses have been told that the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) bid for £37.5 million had been unsuccessful.

They had hoped to use £12.2 million of the money to replace Coney Green High and Radcliffe High with a new school and use the rest of it to carry out substantial rebuilding work at Tottington High School and Derby High School.

Bury's PFI bid was one of 56 submitted to the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), with the total value of bids exceeding £5 billion, compared with available funding of less than £1 billion.

Coun Steve Perkins, executive member for lifelong learning, said: "There is no doubt that the news is disappointing, however the LEA remains committed to modernising its secondary schools and we will be submitting another PFI bid in the autumn.

"We will also consult with all secondary schools about any future bid, as this may need to be broadened to encompass a greater number of schools." In the meantime Coney Green and Radcliffe High will still come together under the executive headteachership of Coney Green headteacher Diana Morton.

The decision was taken last month following discussions involving governors from both schools. The schools will retain their own names and their governing bodies, but arrangements will be made to enhance management and teaching support.

Coun Perkins said: "We will discuss with the DfES the consequences of the decision on the Federation of Coney Green High School and Radcliffe High School and ways in which the objective of a single school for Radcliffe can be met.

"Even if our next PFI bid is unsuccessful we are committed to creating a new school for Radcliffe within the next five years and will be investigating all available funding options."

Education bosses had already held talks with the managers of the former East Lancashire Paper Mill site off Cross Lane with a view to building the super school there.

It would have covered eight hectares, five of which would have been used for playing fields.

Plans were also mooted to close Radcliffe Baths and build a new pool at the super school site, as well as relocating Elms Bank High School, the borough's only school which caters for secondary school age children with disabilities, to the site.