THREE of Bolton's biggest secondary schools look set for a major facelift as education chiefs look at ways of bringing their buildings up to scratch.

Education chiefs have given the go ahead to a £50,000 study to find out the best way to solve an overcrowding problem at Rivington and Blackrod, Westhoughton and Turton High Schools.

Experts will also undertake detailed costings of seven other building projects competing for council money.

Once the costings and long term accommodation studies have been carried out, councillors will decide their spending priorities.

They have £240,000 to start new projects this year but have put the £50,000 secondary schools accommodation study at the top of their spending list.

The schools have a large number of temporary classrooms and worn out 1970s extensions hastily constructed when the school-leaving age went up to 16.

Councillors hope they will get money from the Government's New Deal programme to solve these problems so they can use the remaining £190,000 for other projects.

The secondary school study will also take into account the £900,000 expansion plans to create an extra 150 places at Rivington and Blackrod or Westhoughton schools and the best way of doing this.

Surveyers are currently carrying out a major study into the state of all Bolton schools and highlight priorities but this will not be ready in time.

The seven new projects competing for cash are:

Bringing Chorley New Road school onto one site with an early years centre.

Building nurseries at a number of Bolton schools.

Providing a hydrotherapy pool at Firwood special school.

Buying Pearl Brook in Horwich as part of the plan to replace St Catherine's school.

Minor improvement for the in-school centre at the Withins.

Setting up a central pot so the authority can solve accomodation problems pointed out by Ofsted inspectors.

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