FURTHER Education Minister Ivan Lewis will visit Leigh tomorrow (Friday) to hear first-hand what the Leigh Sports Village means to local people.

At Marshall Street College, he will speak to staff and students and see latest plans for the ground-breaking scheme which places a college and community learning facilities at the heart of a sports and leisure complex.

Leigh MP Andy Burnham will urge the Minister to help make the vision a reality by supporting Wigan and Leigh College's multi-million pound bid for funding.

The Learning and Skills Council is considering a bid from the College and is expected to announce its decision soon.

Mr Burnham believes the new facility is vital to attracting more Leigh youngsters to stay on in full-time education.

Figures for 2003 show that 66 per cent of 16-year-olds in the Leigh area stayed on in full-time education - a statistic which compares unfavourably with the national average of 86.5 per cent.

Mr Burnham says: "Ivan has taken a special interest in the Leigh Sports Village scheme and his visit is a timely boost for us all. I have no doubt that he will hear for himself just how much this means to the town.

"I know he shares my determination to give more Leigh youngsters positive reasons to stay on in full-time education after 16. One of the best ways of doing that is providing first-class learning facilities in an exciting environment. That is what Leigh Sports Village is all about.

"All the debate today is about how to fund universities. But I will be arguing strongly in Parliament that nursery, primary, secondary and post-16 education - particularly in areas like Leigh - should be further up the queue for investment.

"For too many of our young people, university is not an option. Yet Leigh youngsters are as talented as young people anywhere else in the country. They deserve the best society can offer.

"We need to send out a positive message to them that we value their education and I can think of no better way of doing that than building this new facility in the heart of our community."