SCHOOLS will close as part of a £300m education shake-up in part of the North-East over the next 15 years.

Durham County Council unveiled plans yesterday to secure Private Finance Initiative (PFI) cash to stem the hundreds of thousands of pounds lost through increasing numbers of surplus places.

Headteachers could find out as early as next week whether their schools will be earmarked for closure when an appraisals report dissecting all the county's 306 schools is published.

Council leader Ken Manton said yesterday it would inevitably mean some schools will close.

But he said: "It's not just about school closures. It may mean some schools merging or some are actually rebuilt on the same site.

"We want to provide secure futures for schools, pupils and parents and, not least, all our staff. The best way to do that is to plan for the future and create the best equipped schools that we can."

The move came as the council said yesterday the traditional approach of amalgamating and reorganising schools would not solve the problem of surplus places.

It is carrying 8,156 surplus places in the primary sector - 17 per cent of pupils - and 3,752 in the secondary sector, amounting to ten per cent.

Each surplus place accounts for a loss of £150 per year and the council says the problem, faced by practically every authority in the country, is as a result of falling pupil numbers.

The reorganisation of the primary sector will be funded by capital money, designated for school buildings, and the council will put in a bid to the Government for money to match a private investment programme, which will make up the rest of the £300m. No exact figures have been released.

The plan will be rolled out in 18-month phases and the first bid for Government cash will be made in October. Work on some schools could start by the end of this year.