TWO Trowbridge schools have been awarded specialist status, bringing in over £1million of government funding. The Clarendon School has gained specialist status in languages and The John of Gaunt School in science.

Colin Kay, headteacher at the Clarendon School, said: "This is a real boost, not just for us but for the whole of Trowbridge.

"I believe it is another element like the urban planning framework which is going to make Trowbridge an exciting and dynamic community to be part of."

Lyn Sharp, acting head of John of Gaunt said: "We are absolutely delighted. The bid involved a lot of hard work and it is very unusual for schools to be successful on their first application."

The schools joined forces to put in the bid for the money from the department of education and skills in October.

Each had to raise £50,000 in sponsorship from local businesses to qualify for the grants that will mean an extra £120,000 per school and a four-year subsidy for every child.

All three secondary schools in Trowbridge have now achieved specialist status. St Augustine's Catholic College already specialises in technology.

The grants will mean better resources for languages, science and computer technology, benefiting more than 3,000 youngsters in the town.

The schools will be able to offer a wider range of courses to students and will also be reaching out into primary schools and the wider community.

At the Clarendon School there are plans to become a centre of excellence for language teaching and to develop links with other language colleges around the world. The school also plans to offer out-of-hours tuition to students and adults in the community.

It has already begun an ambitious language extension programme, offering Arabic lessons outside school hours.

The John of Gaunt School will be supporting the development of science and information technology in primary schools as well as launching two new out-of-hours science clubs.

Over 50 per cent of schools in the country have now gained specialist status and results show these schools outperform others at GCSE level.