STAFF and pupils at a York secondary school are celebrating after being awarded specialist arts college status.

Ministers have announced that Canon Lee School will become a Specialist Arts College from September 1.

Specialist Colleges are designated by the Department for Education and Skills to develop expertise and extend opportunities for their students.

Head teacher Kevin Deadman said the award meanst the school would get a £100,000 grant to build a new drama studio as well as £120,000 a year in additional funding.

Canon Lee had to raise £50,000 in sponsorship before being able to apply to become a specialist college, together with a detailed application form and a visit from a government assessor in order to be judged as meeting the rigorous standards.

The local community is expected to feature strongly in the work of the school building on the excellent links with partner schools in the area together with other community groups.

The strong links with the Theatre Royal and other arts organisations are also expected to be enhanced by this designation. Mr Deadman said: "This is a very exciting time for us all. We are delighted by the news.

"We hope that being a specialist college for the arts will benefit the entire school and all our students for years to come - this is good news for us and good news for our community."

Executive member for Education on City of York Council, Coun Carol Runciman, said: "This announcement acknowledges the excellent work in the arts that is a strength of Canon Lee School.

"York's secondary schools have a proud record of gaining specialist status and this is yet another recognition of achievement for our city.

"It provides a first class opportunity for the school to undertake more work with young people and the wider community. I would like to congratulate all those concerned and, in particular, the staff of the school. I look forward to seeing the work they do developing in the years to come."

In North Yorkshire, Lady Lumley's School in Pickering, was awarded specialist sports college status.

Like Canon Lee, the school raised £50,000 in sponsorship before it made the application and some of the £150,000 capital funding will go towards a planned fitness suite at the Northern Ryedale Leisure Centre in collaboration with the Local Education Authority, Ryedale District Council and Community Leisure Ltd.

Head teacher John Tomsett said: "We are on the cusp of a significant rise in standards, and specialist status is the spur the school requires to make the leap in improvement it is capable of making."

Holy Family Catholic High School at Carlton, near Selby, featured in last night's Evening Press after getting maths and computing college status.

Updated: 10:17 Thursday, January 27, 2005