Plans to completely rebuild a school in North Leeds have been given the green light by an influential panel of politicians.

Early plans for a £20m-plus revamp of Benton Park Secondary School in Rawdon – which would eventually increase the number of students from 1,225 to 1,500 – went before the council’s influential executive committee this afternoon.

The decision follows warnings from the authority’s executive member for education has warned the city still faces a £100m backlog in school repairs.

Coun Stewart Golton (Lib Dem) welcomed the announcement, and asked when such improvements would be made to Royds and Wetherby High Schools, which the council’s portfolio member for skills and employment Coun Jonathan Pryor warned earlier this month desperately needed extra funding.

Coun Pryor responded: “The coalition (Government) cancelled the  Building Schools for the Future programme.

“[The current Government] is massively underfunding these schools, but we are looking for solutions and we want the government to take this more seriously.”

Although detailed plans for Benton Park School are not yet available, a consultation document released last summer stated that the council wanted to expand from 245 to 300 year seven pupils by 2021, eventually increasing the school’s total capacity by more than 250 pupils.

Coun Pryor sent a letter last month to education secretary Damian Hinds, where he warned Benton Park, Royds and Wetherby High Schools were in such a state of disrepair that they would soon have to close if pleas for extra funding were ignored.

Plans for the schools were accepted by the executive board. A final vote on the improvements is set to take place at a full Council meeting later this month.