EDUCATION chiefs in Bolton are celebrating a multi-million pound windfall to improve school buildings.

Bolton has been awarded the second highest capital allocation out of the 10 towns in Greater Manchester - only Wigan got more.

Delighted councillors have been told they can definitely spend £2.5 million on local schools next year.

And they are hopeful they will get a further £1million when they have completed the formalities over moving Woodside Special School to The Deane School and Masefield County Primary, Little Lever.

Only Wigan, which was awarded £4.2 million, did better. Most towns got less than £2 million.

Bury was awarded £1.8 million - the third highest sum in Greater Manchester.

Substantial

Education chairman Cllr Don Eastwood said: "I am absolutely delighted with the news that we have received this substantial sum of money.

"It demonstrates our commitment to improving schools and the surroundings in which children learn.

"We will be able to make a real impact in many areas and give more children a 21st Century environment. A lot of pupils can look forward to better schools in the new Millennium."

Much of the money will be used to create extra places in schools which cannot cope with demand. Specific schemes include expanding Thornleigh Salesian College, St Joseph's at Horwich and Westhoughton or Rivington and Blackrod.

St Mary's RC primary in Horwich will now be able to draw up designs for a single site school and £100,000 will be used to make buildings more accessible for pupils with disabilities.

More money will also be available for repairing or replacing crumbling classrooms throughout Bolton.

Work on the new schemes will start in April.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.