CHILDREN in their early years of secondary education are set for a boost in basic skills after an injection of Government cash.

The Department of Education and Employment has allocated £755,746 to Warwickshire from a total of £82 million cash award announced in mid-November.

The lion's share of the cash will be invested into key stage three pupils (years seven, eight and nine) by introducing literacy and numeracy strategies into the classroom on a daily basis, the rest on summer schools.

The cash has been welcomed by Warwickshire county councillors, who have fought in the past for more cash for education from the Government as they believe the county is not as "generously funded" as other education authorities.

Various initiatives have been introduced in a bid to aid more children towards Government targets in the three Rs. Most have been centred on younger children and this will be the first step towards pushing the standards of reading and writing amongst 11 to 14-year-olds.

The already successful summer schools have proved to be a vital aid for students who have fallen behind in the classroom and once again, the training will be focussed specifically towards those pupils who need to catch up on literacy and numeracy skills.

Announcing the cash award, Secretary of State for Education David Blunkett explained: "We want to build on the success in primary schools, which has seen children's attainment in English and mathematics rise in both subjects. We need to set similar ambitions for children at age 14."

Councillor Richard Grant, Warwickshire County Council's cabinet member for education, said the cash-strapped county LEA would particularly welcome the money.

"Warwickshire is not funded as generously by central government as many other local authorities," he said.

"We shall make certain that every penny of this new allocation is used for the benefit of our students and to support staff who work so hard to improve the quality of students' experiences in our schools."