SCHOOLS having greater responsibility for their funding and day-to-day running has led to one Bolton comprehensive putting the call out for a business manager.

Turton High School, Bromley Cross, has advertised for a person to fill the post which pays in excess of £25,000. They will be responsible for the school's finances, management of services and support staff.

Government measures mean that schools now receive and are responsible for the vast majority of their budget which would have previously been controlled by the Local Education Authority (LEA).

And Turton deputy head-teacher Alison Byrne said it was this greater responsibility that the business manager would oversee.

She said: "The business manager will not be an educational role and we are looking for a person with the relevant skills to handle finances and such things as maintenance for the school.

"It has been brought about because we are a large school and we have a budget to manage. For example, the repairs budget, which would have previously been controlled by the LEA now goes directly to the school.

"We are a forward thinking school but we are certainly not unique in appointing a business manager. It is possible they will also be responsible for looking at and identifying new opportunities for the school."

Deal

Last month Turton earned the title of specialist Media Arts College and has benefited from a huge influx of money from the Government' New Deal for Schools to create new classrooms and a state-of-the-art media centre.

Construction work on the media centre has been continuing over the summer but bad weather has forced management at the school to move the official completion date for the £2m project back.

Mrs Byrne said: "The centre will now open sometime in mid-November because bad weather has caused short delays but we will probably have an official launch for the centre early next year."