A SCHOOL has been designated a specialist college in science -- with royal approval.

And now Sharples School is to get space-age laboratories to transform it into a centre of learning for the community.

The Hill Cot Road school in Astley Bridge has been designated by the Government as one of only a few schools in the country to achieve the prestigious status.

Headteacher Kevin Clarke attended a ceremony at the home of the Prince of Wales in Gloucester to accept congratulations for the standard of education offered at his school.

The specialist college in science status means the school will receive an additional £600,000 of funding which will be spent on state-of-the-art laboratories, additional teachers, technicians and leading-edge training for staff.

The school will be developed into a centre of learning for the local community which will include a family-learning centre and a health events centre.

Funding used for the improvements will ensure that the school's regular budget allocation can be used effectively to develop its curriculum.

Mr Clarke said: "A lot of hard work went into the writing of the bid and we had to satisfy very stringent criteria. My personal thanks go to everyone involved in the writing of the bid and to those local businesses, parents and friends of Sharples who helped to raise £50,000, without which we could not have submitted the bid.

"The additional funding will ensure that Sharples School can build upon its existing foundations to provide an even more challenging, creative and exciting learning environment to enable pupils to flourish and achieve their full potential."

St Mary's Catholic high School in Astley has been awarded specialist status, in mathematics and computing.

Sharples was also recognised in the top 83 schools nationally in the latest round of government school inspections.

Bolton North MP David Crausby said: "I am very pleased to hear Sharples School has got specialist science college status. It is very well deserved."

Specialist schools have a focus on their chosen subject areas but must still meet National Curriculum requirements and deliver a broad and balanced education to all pupils.