VALE schools are to receive share-outs of a £551,420 cash injection to boost out of school activities.

The National Lottery cash grant is being given to Worcestershire County Council, as the local education authority, by the New Opportunities Fund.

The money is part of a £30million allocation for more than 100 schemes earmarked for 2,350 schools nationwide, based on bids made by individual schools.

A total of 4,000 pupils at 54 schools across Worcestershire will benefit from the funding, which will be spread over three years.

First schools in the Vale receiving cash are Badsey, Broadway, Cropthorne with Charlton, Eckington, Overbury, St Andrew's and The Bredon Hancock's Endowed.

Middle schools included are Abbey Park, Pershore and Bredon Hill. Evesham High and the Vale of Evesham Special will also get shares of the grant.

Under the Out of School Hours Learning programme, activities such as specific study clubs, revision groups, sports clubs, music, drama and dance groups and early literacy clubs will be developed.

The programme will be directed, mainly, at children and young people who face social disadvantage or rural isolation problems.

"This is wonderful news for Worcestershire," said the county council's director of education Julien Kramer. "Pupils and students across the county will benefit from it."

The New Opportunities Fund distributes National Lottery money to health, education and environment projects across the UK.

The fund's chief executive, Stephen Dunmore, said the latest grant allocation represented the largest single sum it had awarded in the two years since the Out of School Hours programme had been launched.

"So far, we have awarded more than £156million in Lottery grants and the schools and organisations which have received that funding are doing a wonderful job in raising the sights of pupils across the UK."