Oakbank School has been awarded a huge £1 million cash injection to boost its sports programme and benefit the community.

The school learned of its successful bid to retain its status as a sports college this week, and will be given £200,000 each year for the next three years.

In the same week, staff heard that they would also receive a £400,000 grant from Sport England.

Oakbank School first gained sports college status in 1997. The status means that the college specialises in sports and receives regular grants to maintain its facilities.

The school recently accepted 600 more pupils.

To keep its sports college status to benefit existing and new pupils, staff and the local authority had to put together a proposal to the government department for employment and education.

Their proposal outlined projects that they hoped to accomplish and how they would use the grants to improve sports at the college.

Among their aims, they hope to enrich the extra curricula PE and sport opportunities, to increase over 16s' interest in courses relating to physical activity and to raise general standards by sharing with other schools and groups, including non-specialist secondary schools.

Director of sport and PE at Oakbank School Helen Plimmer said: "We are absolutely delighted to keep our status as a sports college and with the £600,000 we will receive over the next three years.

"This will bring a lot of money into the community. There is an expectation from the Government that we share the resources.

"We have a very big commitment to other local secondary and primary schools and to the community to share our facilities and we will."

She is also enthusiastic about a £400,000 grant that the school will receive from the government body Sport England, which aims to promote sports throughout the country.

The Sport England grant will directly benefit five local schools and will be mainly spent on staff.

Holy Family School, Greenhead School, Parkside School, Bingley Grammar School and Ilkley Grammar School will all get an extra member of staff from the money.

It will also benefit local projects, such as primary schools, providing increased teacher training and programmes for gifted and talented students.

Helen concluded: "Hopefully, this fantastic amount of money will allow people the time they haven't had before to get things moving more quickly and to turn the money into actual sports facilities to benefit the youngsters."