AMBITIOUS plans for a £520,000 expansion to a York school and community sports centre have been unveiled.

A new 50ft climbing wall and state-of-the-art dance studio are at the heart of the vision for Oaklands Sports Centre, next to Oaklands School, in Acomb.

School and council bosses are hoping to use Lottery cash to fund the plans, which aim to improve facilities and fitness for both pupils and residents.

The centre is used by the school in the day, and by the community after school and at weekends.

The climbing wall will be as tall as The Leeds Wall, which many enthusiasts travel to at the moment, and will have a bouldering area and a section for beginners.

The dance studio will have a specialist sprung wooden floor as well as lighting, video and sound facilities, equipping it for everything from aerobics classes to performing arts. There will also be more PE teaching space for Oaklands pupils.

Jo Gilliland, PE consultant at the City of York Council, said the plans had been submitted by the city's Sport and Active Leisure Partnership.

The partnership has been allocated more than £800,000 by the Lottery's New Opportunities Fund (NOF) to develop new or existing school-site facilities to improve PE in schools and increase physical activity in the community.

The plans have been submitted to NOF and the partnership will find out if they have met with approval in the autumn.

Other projects within the bid include:

A multi-use games surface at Manor CE School

A land swap at Tang Hall Primary School to provide a sports field closer to the school

An adventure trail at St George's RC Primary School, in Fishergate

Changing facilities and a separate entrance for the playing fields at Westfield Primary School, in Acomb.

Meanwhile, a separate Lottery bid has been submitted to renovate Oaklands' all-weather pitch to the tune of £450,000, and the partnership has been granted £650,000 to appoint school sports co-ordinators across the city.

Jo said: "Oaklands is a really important site for us. The school is really committed to delivering really high-quality PE and sport and education, and they were a perfect choice for the facilities."

Oaklands has been running a dance GCSE course for the past two years, and its head of PE, Andy Swann, is the only secondary school advanced skills teacher for PE, with responsibility for developing outdoor activities in all schools.

Deputy head Gavin Cowley said: "This a real period of excitement for us. Through NOF we see lots of opportunities for our students, to raise self-confidence and self-esteem.

"It's not just about Oaklands - we see it as being central to improving PE standards across the city."

Updated: 11:24 Thursday, April 25, 2002