A MULTI-million pound Easter gift for York's most oversubscribed school was announced today, prompting the go-ahead for major building work.

Schools Minister Stephen Timms visited Fulford School to announce its success in securing more than £3 million in Government cash.

The money should spell an end to the ongoing problems of temporary accommodation at the popular school and arguments over its catchment area, which have dominated local education politics for the last few years.

It will pay for:

- a two-storey teaching block with 12 general teaching rooms

- two rooms designed for special educational needs teaching

- two refurbished design and technology rooms

- two additional science labs

- the removal of eight mobile classrooms, providing significant savings.

The work should be finished no later than December 2003.

The plans do not include a new sports hall, but City of York Council's director of education, Patrick Scott, said today that options for funding this were being explored, including working with the developers at the Germany Beck housing development. The school, which is bidding for specialist maths and information technology status, currently has more than 1,200 pupils against a capacity of 1,056, and has 18 temporary classrooms. In February, Selby MP John Grogan, whose constituency includes Fulford, together with Coun Janet Looker, the council's executive member for education, and Mr Scott, visited the Department for Education and Skills in London to press the school's case.

Mr Grogan said: "This announcement is a huge vote of confidence by the Government in a school whose results put it amongst the top 50 comprehensives in the country.

"I hope the extra modern accommodation which is going to be built will mean that the issue of admissions to the school is much less of a factor in local politics in the future than it has been in the last five years.

"I should particularly like to thank the Evening Press for their backing and highlighting the campaign to get decent accommodation at Fulford School."

The bid followed a council move to restore the villages of Dunnington and Elvington to the catchment area.

Mr Scott confirmed today that the school would be able to provide places for everyone in the catchment area.

He said: "Fulford School has grown in a somewhat piecemeal fashion over the last few years and it was becoming clear that we needed to take a radical look at the way accommodation was being provided on the site."

Head teacher Stephen Smith said: "The school has had to live with a number of temporary classrooms for some time, but this will enable us to provide first-class surroundings to match the first-class teaching at the school."

Mr Timms said the money was part of the Government's move to tackle the backlog of school building work across the country.

Updated: 11:31 Tuesday, April 02, 2002