HUNDREDS of gifted teenagers will be offered extra classes with York and Durham University experts, under a £3.6m Government initiative.

Gifted and talented pupils from secondary schools throughout North Yorkshire will be offered after-school, weekend or online classes, led by specialist academics, under the "Excellence Hubs" scheme.

Durham University, in co-operation with the Open University, looks set to offer residential summer courses to children in the North-East, while York University, in co-operation with the universities of Leeds, Hull and Sheffield, is expected to run intensive one-day courses to pupils in North Yorkshire.

Parents will usually be charged for the classes, although each university will be given £400,000 over the next four years to deliver the classes, and ten per cent of places will be available free of charge to children from a disadvantaged background.

Schools Minister Andrew Adonis said: "We need to do more to meet the needs of very able children. These schools harness the expertise of our leading universities for the benefit of gifted and talented pupils in state schools.

"Offering gifted and talented pupils a range of exciting out-of-school opportunities in their area will ensure that eligible children, no matter what their background is, will receive extra support to meet their potential."

The first classes will be during this year's summer holidays. At least half of the places will be offered to pupils who are members of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth.