SPORTING stars of the future will get the best start to their careers thanks to a flagship games area created at a North Yorkshire school.

Derelict tennis courts have been transformed into a multi-use sports facility at Granby High School, in Harrogate, at a cost of almost £130,000.

Comprising five floodlit tennis and three netball courts, the project will provide a Centre of Excellence for a host of sports including netball and tennis and become a breeding ground for top athletes of the future.

The school will provide a base for coaching and talent-spotting as well as a venue for sporting academies, sports awards and festivals.

Operating within and outside school hours, the facility will work with sportsmen and women of all ages, from primary school level upwards, from all over North Yorkshire.

The school's director of studies for sports and community, Malcolm Howe, said: "These are key sports to develop and hopefully, one day, we will produce a champion. I just know it's going to be a fantastic success."

The scheme has brought together the school, North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council and has been funded by a £78,000 grant from the National Lottery's New Opportunities Fund and a £48,620 grant from Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd.