South Craven School is bidding to become a centre of excellence for technology.

If the bid to the Department for Education and Skills is successful the school will get almost £1 million over four years to spend on technology facilities.

Not only the Cross Hills school but the local community and partner secondary Upper Wharfedale and four feeder primaries - Hothfield Street in Silsden, Sutton County Primary, Glusburn County Primary and Cowling Primary - would gain from this accolade.

Specialist status schools are expected to share their superior facilities with neighbouring schools and adults either learning as individuals or employees.

New deputy head Graham Turner, who joined the school at the start of term, has been given the task of co-ordinating the bid and overseeing how the school will raise the £50,000 needed to qualify.

Items on the wish list to be sent with the bid next March include a new technology block for schools and community learning, a technology bus to shuttle pupils between school sites and touch screen whiteboards with images projected from computers.

Teaching and Internet links may also be formed with Sandia High School, Albuquerque, New Mexico, which has the US equivalent of technology status and the town's biggest employer is Intel.

But Mr Turner (pictured) stresses the accolade does not exclude students with strengths in other subjects and says the funding would "enhance the quality of education" at the school as a whole.

Neither would it affect the school's future policy on admissions. He added: "We would have teachers trained to the highest possible degree to use this technology and the school will be very much the heart of the community."

He says technology status is the natural choice for the school as it has won numerous awards in the field .

Half of the £50,000 has already been offered by the Ogden Trust - an organisation supporting initiatives to raise standards in secondary school pupils.

The trust has also offered to provide a marketing consultant to help the school network with potential business funders.

Most funding has to come through business sponsorship with just 10 per cent allowed from parents.

An outline of the bid has to be completed by December and draft proposals by January.

Parents will be told of the plans at a meeting in the school on October 31.