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Colleges and a range of other public and private organisations have been invited to bid for the first five new Education Action Zones, worth at least an extra Pounds 500,000 a year. The action zones, forging the private and public sectors into a partnership, are designed to help raise educational achievement in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country.

The first five will start on September 1 and a further 20 zones will begin next year. The deadline for applications is March 20.