JOHN Bentley School hopes to bring the spirit of internationalism to Calne as it officially launches as Wiltshire's first specialist language college today.

The Calne comprehensive has been awarded the special status by the Government's Department for Education and Employment and will receive £375,000 of extra funding over the next three years.

Staff made their college bid to the DoEE in March and were delighted to learn in June that they had been successful.

Head of modern foreign languages Richard Goddard said the school had to demonstrate the potential to introduce an element of language learning across the whole curriculum, to offer more languages and improve exam results.

"From a community point of view we had to show we would establish links with local industry and forge better partnerships with other schools.

"This is an amazing thing for a small town like this," he said.

The school previously offered French and German as second languages, but the choice for pupils has now been expanded to include Italian and Spanish with plans to teach Swahili and Mandarin Chinese in the future.

The school will link up with Corsham, St Mary's and Springfield Schools as well as local primary schools, and evening classes in business languages will be available to local companies.

"The man on the street will be able to come here for evening classes so in one way or another everyone in the community can benefit from this," said Mr Goddard.

He said there was even the possibility of setting up new twin towns for Calne, which is already linked with France, Germany and America.

The school had to raise an initial £50,000 in sponsorship, which was matched by £100,000 from the DoEE. It will receive a further £125,000 a year for the next three years with the possibility of extending that funding if performance targets are met.

A major slice of the money has been used to pay for information technology equipment, including three computer suites and a video conferencing room.

Teacher Tonia Drummond said: "It's a great opportunity for the whole community from students to local businesses and parents."

Mr Goddard said: "There are people who say some students just aren't capable of learning a language and we simply do not subscribe to that theory.

"We want to increase exam performance in languages across the board and not just for the most able linguists."

The school is currently playing host to a group of German exchange students and teacher Hermann Kurz of the Isolde-Kurz Gymnasium in Reutlingen, has been visiting Calne for the past 13 years.

He said: "I remember when there was nothing in Calne and things have changed so rapidly. I feel a real spirit of a new beginning here."

Headteacher Anne Burrell said: "This is an important factor in the many areas of Calne which are being regenerated. "We see John Bentley as the learning hub of the town."

A grand launch ceremony will be held this evening with guests including MP Michael Ancram, Lord Lansdowne, and former pupil Miranda Griffin, now a research fellow at Cambridge University.