MOST of the region missed out today when the Government handed out an extra £500m to build extra school classrooms.

Just four of 12 local education authorities received grants that added up to £2.74m, with more than half that sum - £1.53m - handed to York.

Darlington receives £863,221, while Stockton-on-Tees (£217,764) and North Yorkshire (£132,822) must make do with much smaller awards.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said the money was intended to help councils cope with a predicted leap in the number of pupils over the next few years - an increase that would primarily hit the South.

Half the £500m was handed to councils in London, including Redbridge (£28.6m), Waltham Forest (£25.1m), Brent (£24.8m) and Barking and Dagenham(£23.9m).

However, the grants follow a savage 60 per cent cut in overall capital spending on schools this year - a cut that will not be reversed before 2015.

As a result, the overall budgets of the likes of County Durham (£15.7m) and North Yorkshire (£19.6m) are smaller than some of the top-ups announced today.

Mr Gove - who had been fiercely criticised for the original capital spending cut - said the extra £500m had been found from "efficiencies and savings" in other rebuilding projects.

It was needed because there would be around 21 per cent more primary age children over the next decade - a hike missed by previous projections for population growth.

Mr Gove said: "I understand the economic situation means difficult choices need to be made about how to direct funding.

"But I urge local authorities to target resources at managing the shortfalls in pupils places wherever they are most needed, taking into account of the views of parents."

In total, 111 local education authorities were awarded funding, while 40 - including County Durham, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough - missed out entirely.

The £500m was divided up according to which councils reported a shortage of places, plus the projections for population growth.

Next month, schools and education authorities will learn whether they have been successful from bids to a separate £2bn fund for replacement schools.

That pot was announced as controversy continued to rage over the dismantling of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project, which axed more than 700 schemes.

Durham County Council has bid for cash to improve Seaham School of Technology, Durham Trinity special school, West Cornforth Primary and St Joseph's RCVA Primary, in Coundon.

The £2bn is expected to pay for between 100 and 300 new schools across England - but there are fears of huge annual repayment costs over 25 years, because all schemes will be funded through the private finance initiative (PFI).