BOLTON education bosses have joined forces with other town hall departments in a £4m bid to breath new life into more deprived areas.

The education authority has drawn up plans to improve educational facilities in the Burnden and Tonge areas.

The department's input is part of a new Single Regeneration Bid to boost both areas by enhancing job prospects and improving their economic standing.

The Council has already secured SRB funding for the Deane, Derby, Daubhill wards and also Farnworth and Little Hulton areas in partnership with Salford Council.

This latest bid for Government cash will be submitted in September.

If outline approval is given a more detailed bid for funding will be submitted by December with an April, 1998, start date in mind. A bid for £4m of SRB resources over a five or six year period will be submitted by the authority.

On the education front, the bid will concentrate on the development of a family learning project which will involve schools, particularly primary schools, the community education service and voluntary groups.

It is further planned to develop an "education for employability" project targeting secondary age pupils and will cover issues such as GNVQ, education attainment generally and mentoring.

The third strand of the educational input will focus on opening-up Information Technology to many more people in both areas.

"We aren't talking about more grey boxes here," explained Jeff Fletcher, the Programmes Officer in the Education Strategy Division.

"Rather we are concerned with getting people into our schools and learning just how IT works."

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