MORE than £60,000 has been raised by a Woodbridge school in a bid to become a specialist centre of learning.It has taken just six months to raise the money for Farlingaye High to bid for specialist status in maths and computing.

MORE than £60,000 has been raised by a Woodbridge school in a bid to become a specialist centre of learning.

It has taken just six months to raise the money for Farlingaye High to bid for specialist status in maths and computing.

But now pupils and teachers face a tense wait to see whether they have been accepted – it could be the summer before they find out.

If successful, it could result in the school having two new classrooms kitted out with new computers.

And it will not just be the school which could benefit from the new status.

The whole community could take advantage of the new facilities and attend, for example, computer classes at the school.

All the primary schools in the area have also been involved in the bid as they too will benefit from the upgrade and will be able to use the school's equipment.

Headteacher Sue Hargadon, was stunned that the money had been raised so quickly.

She said: "I was really surprised. I thought we would only just get the £50,000 and we made £60,000.

"Some of it was raised through fundraising such as sponsored walks and an auction of promises, but we also got a lot of sponsorship from charitable trusts."

Businesses in the area also threw their weight behind the bid and gave money to the fund and private donations were also given.

Ms Hargadon said that gaining specialist status was important because it was a way of enhancing what the school had to offer.