FOREIGN Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw has pledged to find out when the borough will get more money to improve secondary schools after the Government snubbed a £150million plea for help.

Councillors at Blackburn with Darwen Council have been left confused by conflicting messages sent out by the Government in the wake of last week's announcement that their nine high schools had been left out of the next two waves of Building Schools for the Future scheme.

Schools minister David Miliband claimed socio-economic indicators, plus school performance tables, meant other areas were more in need of help than Blackburn with Darwen.

But Key Stage Two tables published two days later charting the performance of 11 year olds in the UK revealed that Blackburn with Darwen's were among the worst-performing in the country.

And of the authorities listed higher in the Government's deprivation league tables than Blackburn with Darwen, just one was below Blackburn with Darwen in the Key Stage Two tables.

On top of that, Chancellor Gordon Brown said in his pre-budget speech that every secondary school in the country would be refurbished by 2015.

But the Department for Education and Skills said their current aim was to work on three schools within every borough by 2016.

The next waves of BSF will not be announced until after the next general election, and Blackburn with Darwen wouldn't benefit until 2009 at the earliest. Council leader Kate Hollern said: "We need to find out what is going on, why we missed out, and when we will get help, because clearly we need it.

"There are conflicting messages being sent out.

"We are very disappointed by what has happened."

Mr Straw said: "Blackburn has done very well in the past and I will be trying to find out what has happened.

"I hope to speak to Charles Clarke, the Education Secretary, this week."