A £150m improvement plan for schools in the Redcar and Cleveland area has moved forward with the appointment of a consortium to oversee the work.

Three new secondary schools are to be built - a voluntary aided school for Sacred Heart RC School, Redcar, and two community schools for Bydales at Marske and Gillbrook Technology College, South Bank.

Two new primary schools will also open their doors, following approval for the amalgamation of St Alban's with St Dominic's, in Redcar, and Beech Grove with Cromwell Road at South Bank.

Nunthorpe Secondary School will be extensively refurbished and remodelled.

Work is due to start in January and is expected to be completed by September 2006.

The programme is supported by £48.9m of Private Finance Initiative credits, provided by the Government, with the rest coming from a public-private partnership.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council announced on Monday that the preferred bidder for the design, build, finance and future management is Mowlem Robertson Schools Consortium, of Leeds.

Coun Steve Kay, cabinet member for education, said: "This is a giant step forward for education in Redcar and Cleveland, providing a massive investment in new schools and the refurbishment of Nunthorpe Secondary School.

"Dilapidated buildings will be replaced by modern structures and facilities that are designed for youngsters of the twenty-first century."

He added: "A tremendous amount of work has gone into the drawing up and final stages of this excellent and far-reaching programme which will breathe new life into education in the borough.

"Tribute must be paid to local authority staff in our education department, the schools themselves and the bidders. This development is the culmination of many months of effort and hard work."

Tony Jackson, bid manager for Mowlem, said the consortium was delighted to have been chosen for such a high- profile project.

He said: "We are now looking forward to continuing to work with the council officers in order to conclude the deal and enable work to start on the construction of the schools in January 2005, so that they can be ready for occupation from September 2006.