A RADICAL £400m blueprint, which supporters say will transform the face of secondary education in County Durham, has won Government approval.

The 15-year plan will see money to rebuild or refurbish every one of the county's 36 secondary schools and major investment in the county's most dilapidated buildings.

But, controversially, it could lead to the closure of some schools or even the creation of the county's first academies.

Yesterday, Durham County Council confirmed it had received official notification that its Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme has been given the go-ahead.

Councillor Claire Vasey, cabinet member for children's services, said: "It means that BSF is now properly up and running in County Durham.

"We can start to draw-up detailed plans for replacing and refurbishing our 36 secondary schools and working out costs and finance packages. Schools themselves can start to develop and refine their own visions for the future."

Building work will take place in four phases with the first, in which about £100m is to be spent improving schools in East Durham and Sedgefield, expected to start in January 2008.

Similar amounts will be spent on phase two, which will cover South Durham and is due to start in summer 2009, phase three in West Durham from early 2011 and phase four in North Durham from 2012.

But it is the last two phases, when it is proposed to establish privately-sponsored academies in Consett, Stanley and Durham City, which have proven most controversial.

Earlier this month, former education director Keith Mitchell claimed the Government had "blackmailed" the authority into amending its proposals to include academies or put the much-needed funding package at risk - an allegation denied by both the council and the Government.

The Government had indicated that the authority's original proposals had lacked innovation, but the latest version, which includes academies, was said by the Department for Education and Skills to be: "well developed, with many good features" and added that it met Government requirements for delivering the appropriate level of transformation and improvement in standards.

The plan also envisages the closure of a further six secondary schools in the county - reflecting the projected fall in pupil numbers from 32,700 last year to 27,500 in 2016.

The closure of Dene Community College, in Peterlee, has already been agreed as part of a merger with nearby Shotton Hall School in the first phase of the BSF proposal, which also includes the complete rebuilding of Seaham School.

Coun Vasey added: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a whole new learning environment for the 21st Century that will inspire our children, young people and their whole families to achieve the very best of their ability. There are exciting times ahead."

Meetings with staff, parents and governors are expected to take place soon and 2,000 copies of a newsletter explaining the proposals will be distributed.