In line for school plans

Oldham’s £230 million transformation of its crumbling secondary schools has moved a step closer.

The council will submit its Building Schools for the Future outline business case to the Government by Friday.

The once-in-a-lifetime proposals will see every child in the borough attend a new or refurbished high school by 2015.

They include replacing Breeze Hill, Counthill, Grange, Kaskenmoor and South Chadderton schools with three academies run by sponsors.

Council leader Howard Sykes said: “This programme will make a considerable step-change in terms of education achievement for some of our youngsters in this borough because they desperately need this.”