HREOD Parkway School will be replaced and a pioneering learning campus will be built in north Swindon.

The Government today gave approval for £60m to be raised for the project using a partnership with private companies.

A community school will replace Hreod Parkway School and the new campus will include a secondary school in north Swindon for 1,350 pupils, a primary school, vocational centre, two special schools and community and sporting facilities. Another two primary schools will be built in other parts of north Swindon.

The maintenance of Abbey Meads and Catherine Wayte primary schools, which opened in 1999 and 2000 respectively, is also hoped to be part of the deal.

The council had to apply to the Government's Department of Education and Skills for permission to go ahead with the private finance initiative (PFI).

It was warned the bid had only a one in four chance of success, but today's news is a welcome shot in the arm for an education authority that has been labelled failing in recent months.

Council leader Mike Bawden said: "We are thrilled to hear the great news for education.

"The council's bid was based on a desire to provide the best quality education and community facilities for the people of North Swindon and to provide local schools for local people."

It was Swindon's second attempt under the PFI scheme, having had a £28 million bid for fewer schools rejected in December 2000.

The council must now prepare an outline business case for the scheme, which could take around six months, before putting it out for tender.

It is then likely to be many years before all the work is completed. The PFI money will have to be paid back over a period of 25 years. That is likely to mean a yearly cost of about £3 million a year.