SECONDARY schools across County Durham could become multi-purpose learning centres under Government plans.

Durham County Council is to start drawing up proposals for what it calls a "once-in-a-lifetime'' opportunity to change the face of education.

The Government is planning a ten to 15-year programme to improve and renew the country's ageing stock of secondary school buildings.

Ministers plan to start by making £2.2bn available in 2005/06, although much of the money will be provided under the controversial Private Finance Initiative.

PFI, which involves public buildings being leased from private companies, has been criticised by unions and some Labour MPs for being more costly than traditional funding.

The Labour-run council hopes to tap into the funding to create facilities that will have teaching and learning at their core and a full range of community, cultural, and one-stop-shop facilities as well. Meeting in private yesterday, Durham County Council's cabinet backed the idea after hearing that the Government considered the condition of some secondary schools so bad that replacements were needed.

Council leader Councillor Ken Manton said the authority would begin consulting schools, governors and the communities they served to review and, where appropriate, reorganise secondary education and prepare bids.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rationalise and improve potentially the entire secondary school stock in County Durham," he said.

"The conditions and criteria which have to be met will require some radical decisions and detailed consultation but the outcome could be a new generation of schools unlike anything which currently exists.

An Audit Commission report published earlier this year said the first schools built under PFI were more costly than if they had been funded traditionally.