BLACKBURN'S bid to overhaul its secondary schools with a £150million cash injection has been approved.

But the funding -- part of a drive to improve schools across the country -- will not be in place until at least 2008.

The Department for Education and Skills confirmed Blackburn with Darwen Council's bid was among a secondary list of priority areas.

The authority had hoped it would have been included in the earlier wave of Building Schools For Future.

But it was left out of waves two and three when they were announced in November.

Wave one was announced earlier in 2004 and included a scheme to revamp Burnley's schools.

The DFES initally refused to give any indication which wave Blackburn with Darwen would be included in, claiming other areas took priority.

However, following lobbying by MPs Janet Anderson and Jack Straw, along with the council, the Government has confirmed Blackburn with Darwen will get the money in waves four to six, which covers funding becoming available between 2008 and 2010.

The revamp will probably include a brand new building for Blakewater College, currently operating out at the Queen's Park Technology College building.

Council leader Kate Hollern said: "We have kept pushing and it has worked. It is great news.

"It means we can push forward with improving education and ensuring we give future generations the best start."

Twenty education authorities were given cash last November, on the basis of education and social need.

But league tables revealed just five of the 20 returned lower Key Stage Two results, the tests taken by 11-year-olds, than Blackburn with Darwen.