BURNLEY is to benefit from a £1.2million state-of-the-art computer, technology, drama and music centre as a part of a Government initiative to improve facilities in deprived areas.

The centre at Towneley High School in Towneley Holmes, Burnley, will open in a year as part of the Government's Excellence in the Cities scheme.

Towneley High is among five secondaries alongside Edge End County High, Nelson, and Walshaw County High, Barden County High and St Hilda's RC Girls' School, all Burnley, and ten primary schools in the programme's Burnley and Pendle area.

All have benefited from extra Government funding to improve facilities but the new City Learning Centre will be designed to be used by the whole community.

Towneley head teacher David Hinks revealed plans for the centre included a multi-purpose space, suite of 15 PCs with sound systems, a ten-PC suite for primary science and cordless laptop computers on the ground floor.

Upstairs there would be a further 30 PCs, musical keyboards for advanced music tuition, a sound recording studio, multi-purpose studio for drama or music tuition, video filming equipment and conference facilities.

As well as adult courses the centre will be used by 'content developers' -- people whose role is to transfer the National Curriculum to computer format, which can be accessed on the world wide web.

A manager -- David Copeland -- has been appointed for the centre and has joined Towneley as one of Mr Hinks' team of three deputy heads.

Mr Hinks added: "The intention is to have it open by March 31, 2003. Provided this happens we are entitled to a further £150,000 capital to set up 'satellite' centres in the area, for example in Pendle or other parts of Burnley.

"We are also getting £220,000 running expenses for three years -- which would include the cost of staffing the centre. We are aiming to eventually have the centre running from 8am to 10pm.

"When the Government funding runs out it will revert to the school so we are trying to set up a holding company with Lancashire County Council and Burnley Borough Council to keep it running."

Mr Hinks hopes the centre will run hand in hand with the school's sports centre, which out of school hours is run for community use.

There are already 69 CLCs in the UK with a total 84 in use by summer 2002. An additional 21 CLCs will open by March 2004. They are all in areas selected by the Department for Education and Skills for Excellence in the Cities funding.

They provide a wide range of facilities including breakfast/teatime homework and mentoring clubs, masterclasses for the Gifted and Talented, music masterclasses via Teleportec, Advanced Maths Centres for primary pupils, projects linking museums and libraries to education, web design courses, videoconference links between Year 10 students and an astronomer at Manchester's Science and Industry Museum and basic adult ICT skills courses.