FOUR of the region's top secondary schools are bidding to prove just how special they are this year by applying for specialist college status.

In Harpenden, Roundwood Park, Sir John Lawes and St George's School are all bidding for the college status, while in St Albans Verulam School in Brampton Road is flying the flag of excellence.

The specialist schools programme aims to create centres of excellence that will provide advanced teaching in either the arts, technology, modern languages, media or sports.

The latest crop of specialist college hopefuls will join almost 400 already in existence.

These were pioneered by the last government as a way of pushing up standards.

Labour hopes that promoting specialist centres within the state sector will have the knock-on effect of improving the performance of neighbouring schools by providing an example of good practice.

But schools hoping to exalt themselves to this status must first raise the necessary cash with which to finance their bids, a long and often difficult task that can stretch enthusiastic fundraisers to the limit.

Any state school can apply for specialist status, but first it must show that it can raise £50,000 in private sponsorship.

If it is successful, it then becomes entitled to receive an additional £100,000 in matched funding, on top of an extra £100 per pupil, a figure due to be reviewed after three years.

Former schools minister Estelle Morris argued that this extra funding was warranted because there was evidence that specialist schools were proving effective at raising standards, after 17 of last year's 100 most improved schools were specialists in one area.

She also said that the key emphasis for specialist schools should be on sharing their increased expertise and resources with local primary and secondary schools so that children in the surrounding area also benefit.

At Roundwood Park School in Harpenden, which has already been identified as a "particularly successful school", staff are trying to build on their current success as a comprehensive by modelling the school into a specialist arts college.

In a mission statement, the school outlined its intentions, by saying: "We hope to become part of a learning society in Harpenden, which will benefit local schools and provide educational opportunities and a range of experiences for other local groups and a focus for local arts initiatives.

"We are particularly keen to provide local artists with studio space and opportunities to exhibit their work as this is an area of real need in the St Albans and Harpenden district."

But before the school can even hope to win this status, staff have had to indulge in some innovative fundraising ideas to reach the £50,000 they need to support their bid.

A sponsored walk on July 6 could prove to be their salvation as headteacher Andy Cunningham has told parents in the school's weekly newsletter that if each pupil raises just £50 Roundwood will achieve its target.

And at Verulam School, which is in the early stages of submitting a bid for specialist science and technology status, staff are already looking at ways of raising both the money and the support to finance their bid, as well as at how the extra resources could be shared.

The school's head of science, Sean Baker, said: "We envisage creating a learning resource centre that could provide feeder schools with a computer linked to our library here at Verulam.

"We would also train staff at feeder primary schools in using some of the resources so that they could share this knowledge with their own pupils and what is expected at each key stage."