SECONDARY school pupils in Worcestershire are to benefit from an £813,369 Government handout aimed at raising education standards.

The investment will ensure that secondary schools build on the success of primary schools in raising standards in literacy and numeracy.

The grant will be used for children aged 11 to 14 at Key Stage 3.

It will be used to target schools where pupils need to catch-up in the crucial years of secondary school.

The county will also receive £370,000 for literacy and numeracy summer schools.

The Government is investing £22m nationally to run the summer schools.

The programme will help smooth transition from primary to secondary school.

"These children will be further supported in the first year of secondary education with literacy and numeracy catch-up programmes," said Education and Employment Secretary David Blunkett.

A spokeswoman for Worcestershire LEA welcomed the grant dubbing it "great news" for secondary education in the county and said it represented a significant investment in raising standards in schools.

"We ran a number of summer schools this year and they were a great success, so we welcome this extra money to carry on this good work next year," added the spokeswoman.

"We're delighted that this extra money will be targeted at the first years of secondary education as it is very important.

"We'll ensure this money will be put to the best use to deliver high quality education to boost standards in our secondary schools."