THE announcement that school sport in Herefordshire will receive a £430,000 cash injection was being celebrated throughout the county this week.

Teachers and young people across Herefordshire should benefit from a new physical education and out-of-school hours initiative called the Schools Sports Co-ordinator Programme.

The programme is part of a national scheme developed by Sport England with the Department of Education and Skills, Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the New Opportunities Fund and the Youth Sport Trust.

On hearing that Hereford-shire's bid had been successful, Steve Bradley, the advance skills teacher for PE in Herefordshire, said: "It's fantastic for sport in Hereford-shire. As far as I am aware this is the biggest ever single injection of cash into school sport across the county."

The three-year programme will operate in partnership with six of the county's secondary schools - Fairfield High, Haywood High, Kingstone High, Minster College, Weobley High, and Whitecross High - and involve approximately 20 feeder primary and special schools.

It will be delivered by a Herefordshire Education Authority Steering Group that will include representatives from schools and regional officers from Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust.

Head of inspection, advice and school performance service in Herefordshire, Ted St George echoed Bradley's delight. He added that the initiative was likely to start in January.