THE woman who will run the new Ladybridge High School in Bolton says she expects pupils to be queueing up for places within five years.

Ladybridge will be the reincarnation of the present Deane School.

The school was marked as failing and put into special measures following a critical Ofsted report last year. It was decided to close it after it failed to improve enough to come out of special measures.

It will reopen in the same buildings and on the same site in Junction Road, Deane, and with the same pupils -- but with the new name of Ladybridge and a new uniform.

It will also have a new head -- Jo Gabler, at present, deputy head of George Tomlinson School in Kearsley.

And today she said: "I anticipate that within five years, Ladybridge will be massively over subscribed with students queueing up to get places.

"I want 50 to 60 per cent of students gaining at least five A to C passes at GCSE -- that is my vision."

Ladybridge High will be officially linked with Rivington and Blackrod High School, and cash and extra resources will be poured into the school to raise educational standards.

Both schools will be under the overall leadership of Executive Principal John Baumber and staff will meet regularly to share ideas.

By September, 30 per cent of the staff will have left The Deane School and will have been replaced. Building work on a £1 million revamp will be well under way.

Mrs Gabler said in the first year she plans to focus on the quality of learning and teaching. A totally new curriculum will be introduced which will give pupils more flexibility to choose between vocational and academic subjects and lessons will be designed specifically to motivate pupils.

Heads of Years and form tutors will be replaced by learning co-ordinators who will make sure individual pupils are following the right courses to suit their particular talents.

Mrs Gabler said: "By the time we open in September, we will have about 160 additional computers, whiteboards and ICT equipment."

In the autumn term, the school will also bid for specialist sports college status which, if successful, should bring more funds into the school and enhance sporting opportunities.

A learning centre will open for after school classes for children and members of the community. It will also link up with the sports programme at the Deane leisure centre on the same site.

Mrs Gabler explained why she was attracted to the challenge of leading Ladybridge. She said: "Having worked in the area for about 18 months or so, I realise the school has got huge potential. Some of the areas in the school needing development are strengths of mine."

She said she had been impressed by the youngsters and staff she had already met.

Mrs Gabler is originally from Manchester, but began her teaching career in a 450-pupil community college in Dartmouth, Devon.

She then moved to a large community college in Paignton with 2,000 pupils.

Later, she moved to an inner city school in Plymouth before moving to Stoke-on-Trent to work as a school development adviser.

She has been the deputy head at George Tomlinson school for the past 18 months.