Four headteachers today called for urgent action to give their pupils the schools that they deserve.

Hob Moor Junior and Infant Schools, in Acomb, were made of corrugated aluminium in the 1950s and were only meant to last for 15 years. They are still open today.

Fulford St Oswald's Primary and St Barnabas's Primary in Leeman Road are cramped and outdated. They need urgent rebuilding work.

The City of York Council is asking the Government for approval to go ahead with a regeneration deal for the fifth time in three years.

The £8 million private finance initiative, as it is called, could transform not just the schools, but also the communities around them.

A new Hob Moor building would provide community facilities for young people, as well as a new home for Hebden Rise day centre.

St Barnabas's would be jointly built with the nearby church, and St Oswald's would take in Fulford Library.

Rob Calvert, head at Hob Moor Junior School, said: "Our children deserve a new building. They deserve all the chances that other children are getting."

Paul Marks, head at Fulford St Oswald's Primary School, said: "The difficulty we've got is that PFI has not been very forthcoming. We've got to the stage when we perhaps need to pursue other avenues."

Helen Davey, headteacher at St Barnabas's, said: "Although the LEA have been very supportive in giving us a new entrance hall, staff room and office, it's still a building that needs a lot of work."