KINGSTONE High School is set to become a sporting centre for the Golden Valley after netting a £1.2 million grant for a long-awaited sports hall.

Chairman of the governors, Ionwen Williams, believes the major development will take the Herefordshire school's pupils and staff into the new millennium.

The national new opportunities funding for the project follows years of hard graft by the Local Education Authority, Herefordshire Council, the staff, school governors and the local community.

The proposed new building has already been granted planning permission and work is expected to begin in the spring.

The new complex will include a sports hall, four badminton courts, four changing areas, staff office and a reception area.

Delighted headteacher Jon Goodchild paid tribute to all those involved in preparing the successful application.

He said: "The awarding authority, the New Opportunities Fund, were rigorous in the extreme with regard to the application. The bid was successful because the LEA, Herefordshire Council, the school and the local community worked together. However, I would like to pay tribute to George Salmon of the LEA for his work on the project for many years."

The sports hall will allow the school's PE department to increase their work with primary schools and help them make links with clubs.

The school will have exclusive use of the sports hall during the school day, with local sports groups able to use it in the evenings and at weekends.

Herefordshire Council's cabinet minister for education, Don Rule, said: "There is no equivalent facility between Hereford and Ross-on-Wye. This sports hall will be the centre of indoor sporting activity throughout the Golden Valley and the surrounding areas, and such a facility is long overdue."

The building of the sports hall will also allow the school to create a large, refurbished drama area for performance, music and dance.