Three schools are celebrating after attaining specialist technology status.

Challenge College, Frizinghall, Queensbury School, Queensbury, and St Joseph's College, Bradford, will receive the status from the Department for Education and Skills in September.

It means the schools will be given funding to boost specific departments and develop projects in the community.

The announcement means that more than half the secondary schools in Bradford now have specialist status.

Challenge College received specialist status for design and technology, maths and science. It took two years for the school to prepare the bid and it raised £50,000 through sponsorship and donations.

It will now be given £118,000 a year for the next four years to be divided between the departments. A condition of the funding is that one third has to be spent in the community and the remaining two thirds in the school.

The college plans to spend £150,000 on building an IT suite. Headteacher Steve Amos said: "We have worked so hard for the best part of two years to achieve this - it's great for staff, students and the community of Bradford.

"It will have a great impact on education here as well as in our feeder schools and our partner school Laisterdyke."

Bid co-ordinator Heather Scott said: "This is brilliant news both for the college and for Bradford.

"This puts us firmly on the national education map as a school that is serving the community well, developing future citizens as independent learners and sharing resources with our primary and secondary partners."

Queensbury School has received specialist status in maths and computing to improve IT facilities and offer opportunities in the community. St Joseph's College has received specialist status in science. Mark Pattison, Education Bradford's managing director, said: "I am delighted that Challenge College, Queensbury School and St Joseph's College have been awarded specialist status. This shows that the DfES has confidence in three more secondary schools from the Bradford district."