Hounslow Council will be one of eight in the country to be fast-tracked to join the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme from this summer.

The local authority got the go-ahead to join the programme, which is designed to give all secondary school pupils world-class facilities.

It means the council can start developing projects to rebuild and refurbish the five secondary schools in their areas most in need of investment - with the remaining local secondaries being rebuilt or renewed later in the programme.

The eight councils will join over 72 local authorities already joining BSF and around 1,000 secondary schools already being revamped across England, including around 180 academy projects.

Schools Minister Jim Knight said: "This is outstanding news for children, parents, teachers in these communities. It is right to give the go-ahead to projects which are ready to start so local authorities can target the schools that need it most.

"Our record investment over the last 11 years has made massive strides in addressing the depressing legacy of underinvestment in secondary schools. But we want to go further.

"Building Schools for the Future will transform the shape of education in every single community and future generations will reap the rewards of these fantastic new learning environments and facilities."

Tim Byles, Chief Executive of Partnership for Schools, said: "These eight authorities, drawn from across the country, have already been thinking and planning carefully for their Building Schools for the Future projects and have shown they are ready to hit the ground running.

"With 13 BSF schools now open, research is starting to demonstrate how new and remodeled schools are benefiting students, teachers and local communities."