A CHARITY is to open a school in East Lancashire for bullied children whose parents have withdrawn them from mainstream education.

The Red Balloon's Burnley site will be the charity's first base in the north of England.

Fourteen places will be made available for children aged between 10 and 16 who have been pulled out of mainstream schools after being bullied.

The school will have a 35 mile intake area. It is not yet known how much the school will cost.

The plans have been welcomed by Burnley Council leader Gordon Birtwistle.

Anne Quinn, 52, a mother-of-seven, of Colne Road, Burnley, is the woman behind the new school.

She got involved with the charity after hearing about its work and deciding she wanted to bring a school to her home town.

The former headteacher and teacher of 30 years, who has worked in schools in Bradford, Bury and Manchester, said she was looking at potential sites in the borough.

Mrs Quinn said she would be contacting councils to ask if they wanted to fund places at the new school which could be open by September.

She said: "I am from Burnley that is why I really wanted to bring it up here. It is such a tremendous thing to have.

"It is such a wonderful opportunity and is somethi-ng that is desperately needed otherwise children will end up at home. They have no future and just sit around watching day time TV and doing a couple hours of study. It is in a domestic setting so they do not feel intimidated and the idea of it is like an intensive care unit for children to help the child recover from the impact of bullying."

Fully qualified teachers would come into the school and teach their specialist subjects to children in small groups or through one to one tuition.The aim is to get children over their bullying ordeal and back into mainstream schooling.

Red Balloon opened in 1996 in Cambridge by Dr Carrie Herbert. The charity also has schools in London and Norwich. The founder of Childline and president of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, Esther Rantzen, has backed the project.

Mrs Quinn, who now runs Parentcoach, an advice company for parents, added: "Obviously these things can take a long time to happen, it all depends on how much funding and support we get.

"It could be this September or it could be a year in September before it opens.

"We will not know until we know the response of the local authorities because that would be where the bread and butter funding comes from.

Coun Birtwistle said: "Any idea to help children through a difficult time before returning them to mainstream school has to be welcomed."