ANOTHER secondary school has announced it is to bid for specialist college status, in a move that could be worth half a million pounds.
The Ridgeway School in Wroughton is aiming to earn science college status for the start of term in September 2003.
To earn specialist status, schools must raise £50,000 and compile a detailed bid explaining how the school will use the funding, showing how it will develop connections in the community and improve science in the school.
Headteacher, Elizabeth Cooper, said: "Science, among many other subjects, enables pupils to discuss, debate, explore, investigate, research, solve problems and think for themselves.
"That is why we have chosen to bid for science status, because it will impact across a broad range of subject areas including maths and information and communication technology.
"Swindon has a proud history built on science and engineering, and with the Science Museum just around the corner it is a great idea."
Specialist status lasts for four years, and can be worth up to half a million pounds or more over that period.
The move would make the Ridgeway School the third specialist college in Swindon, with Dorcan School in Covingham already awarded technology college status. Churchfields School, in Salcombe Grove, is an art college.
The Commonweal School in Old Town announced in July that it was to bid for technology college status.
The funding has been a great success at Dorcan School, currently in the penultimate year of its four year funding, where headteacher Dr Scott Sissons has been invited by the Department for Education and Skills to reapply for the status.
Kingsdown School narrowly missed out in a high profile bid to become a specialist college, but was told its bid only needed fine tuning and is expected to apply again.
Churchfields School became the first specialist school in the town when it won performing arts college status in January 1999 and Dorcan School followed suit six months later, becoming a technology college.
There are currently 900 specialist schools in the country, and the Government wants to increase this to 1,500 by September 2003.
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