£50m boost to improve Bolton's GCSE results

7:49am Tuesday 6th May 2008

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SCHOOLS in Bolton are to receive a share of a £50 million windfall to help boost flagging GCSE results.

Extra teachers will be recruited for core subjects, with students promised "intensive support" ahead of exams.

Children and Young People's Minister Beverley Hughes is due at the Lowry Centre in Salford Quays today to launch the Greater Manchester Challenge.

It is a scheme aimed at making sure at least 30 per cent of pupils at every secondary school gain five A* to C grades including maths and English at GCSE by 2011.

Bolton's most recent schools performance tables show the borough has five schools which fall below the target - George Tomlinson, Harper Green, Hayward, Ladybridge and Withins.

Over the next three years, the Department for Children, Schools and Families will be working with Greater Manchester's 10 local authorities.

It will be investing the £50 million in a variety of schemes to raise aspirations among children from disadvantaged backgrounds and improve exam results.

The cash boost comes on the back of the announcement that Bolton has teamed up with Blackburn to launch a joint bid for £500 million to remodel or rebuild every secondary school in the borough.

If funding is approved, education chiefs hope the borough could be ready to sign up private construction and IT contractors to start work as early as 2012.

Mrs Hughes said the challenge funding would make a huge difference to Bolton.

She said: "I want Greater Manchester to show the rest of the country the way and break the cycle of underachievement."

"I want it to be a world-leading city-region for education and skills, and for all our young people to have high aspirations and ambitions."

Among the challenge scheme's initiatives are: l Refresher classes for young people taking their GCSEs this year.

l Projects to encourage parents to become more involved in their children's education.

l More work to tackle truancy and advisors to link struggling schools with their more successful neighbours, with the aim of raising standards, particularly in the subjects of maths and English.

And later this month the Greater Manchester Student Awards will be launched with students in years nine and 10 invited to enter one of six categories for the opportunity to win prizes including a day with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and a private tour of London's Globe Theatre.

The awards are aimed at helping develop pride amongst pupils in their schools.

Bolton's executive member for children's services Cllr Linda Thomas welcomed the extra cash.

"We are not certain yet how much Bolton will be allocated and we are waiting to learn the full details but any money to support classroom teaching will be great," she said.