A GROUNDBREAKING education project in Darlington has been granted European Social Funding worth £398,000.

The project, developed by Darlington Borough Council's education department, will be aimed at 15 to 16-year-old pupils, in Key Stage 4, and 13 to 14-year-olds in Key Stage 3, who have already been excluded from school or who are in danger of being excluded.

From next January, 24 Key Stage 4 pupils, who will have been referred to the scheme by their schools, will be based at McMullen House, Yarm Road.

There, they will be provided with a personal action plan and behavioural support.

Their education will be flexible, and partly vocational. It will also address their individual needs to enable them to be able to compete in the employment market.

For Key Stage 3 pupils, the project will address behavioural problems.

The aim for these students will be to prevent their exclusion and enable them to cope better in school.

Each term, 12 different pupils will leave mainstream education activities to be based at McMullen House.

For one complete term, the pupils will not take part in any activities that relate to the national curriculum.

They will concentrate instead on personal development activities, such as communication skills and learning to compromise. They will also work on basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Eleanor Lister, the council's cabinet member for education, said: "This is an exciting project which aims, quite simply, to prevent the pupils being excluded from our schools.

"We must accept that all parts of the national curriculum for Key Stage 4 pupils may not address the particular needs of every pupil, and we cannot abandon these young people without offering an alternative.

"The project offers a real opportunity for many pupils to gain GCSE or vocational qualifications, who may otherwise leave school without qualifications."

The scheme has been developed jointly by the council's community education and learning support service team.

Up to 20 teaching staff will be based at McMullen House and there will also be a role for some members of Darlington's peer education group.

A further bid will be made to attract more European Social Fund money, with a view to expanding the project next year.