HEBDEN Green School has landed a bumper grant of £1.2m from Cheshire County Council's new £500m budget to radically improve its facilities.

The money will enable the special school in Woodford Lane West to construct a computer room, drama suite, science room and therapy area. It will also be used to refurbish a pupils' residential area, improve toilet facilities and to provide parents' accommodation.

Headteacher Andrew Farren was delighted at news of the cash boost which he said would have "a tremendous impact on the pupils' lives, allowing them to work in a dramatically different way".

Mr Farren explained how the cash will be used and why it was so desperately needed.

He said: "The school is 25 years old this year. It was built in the early 70s and this money is really setting us up for the next 25 years.

"The needs of the children have changed over the years. They're far more complex because people come here with all kinds of learning difficulties and the kind of facilities required are more wide ranged.

"We have 118 pupils. There are some children who have been in serious road traffic accidents, others are born with cerebral palsy. So the prognosis can be very different for each one of them.

"This money will enable us to make various improvements. We already have a pupils' residential area at the school and every week different people stay there to become more independent. We will be rebuilding this to accommodate five living areas.

"It will be great for the children as some have very isolated lives and this boosts their social activity as they are able to see friends in the week.

"We also have a building on site which will be transformed into a studio for dance, drama and movement.

"The toileting facilities which are very institutional and archaic will be improved, and there will be an extension to a science room, a compute suite and therapy room.

"In addition, we have a disused farm house on the way in to the school and this will be used for a parents' centre and there will be accommodation for parents to stay overnight there too.

"All this will enable us to work in a dramatically different way."

Mr Farren praised staff, parents and pupils for their hard work in securing the money.

He said: "It is a reflection of the enthusiasm of staff, parents and pupils and the relationship with the local community. We have an incredible team of staff.

"Also we have a good location here because, not only are we on a site with a mainstream school, but there is space to build.

"I think the department of education thought this is a good one to go with because of the commitment, enthusiasm, and the way we presented our case made it worthwhile of investment."

Pete Gaskell, chairman of governors at Hebden Green School, who has been involved in the governing of the school for around 10 years, added: "It's a wonderful opportunity to enhance the facilities which we can deliver to the pupils.

"I think it's going to be a flagship for the community. It will make a remarkable difference. We have been given the opportunity to have a real millennium year."

The building will not start until the spring of 2000 and will be complete in the summer of 2001.

Cheshire County Council has also announced that £190,000 is being spent at Tarporley High School to upgrade its humanities block.

And other educational benefits in the county's £500m budget will include: a teachers pay award of 3.7 per cent, costing £6m net in full, funding of £1m for 500 extra secondary school pupils, a £1m increase in teacher development and school improvement funding, £360,000 for 28 additional classroom assistants, and £340,000 spent on increasing the number of education welfare officers and the team involved in specific learning difficulties and disadvantaged pupils.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.