A ROW has erupted between Worcester MP Mike Foster and Worcestershire County Council over the future of a city school.

MP Mike Foster said he hoped to announce plans to rebuild Christopher Whitehead Language College within weeks.

He said he was working with the city and county councils and two mystery organisations to bring about a deal.

But Coun Liz Eyre, the county council's cabinet member for children's services, said it was news to her and she had "no idea what he was talking about".

The row broke out after the Government turned down a county council bid for £12m to rebuild the school.

The school's future still hangs in the balance.

Options include refurbishing the school on its current site or re-locating elsewhere in the city.

Mr Foster criticised the quality of the council's grant bid as "embarrassing" and said its plea for money to restructure schools in the Wyre Forest had clouded the issue. He said: "Because the county council - against my advice - reorganised Kidderminster schools, the Government did not give this bid priority treatment.

"The county council thought tinkering with the system in Wyre Forest to please those in County Hall was more important than the condition of the school buildings in the city."

Mr Foster claimed he warned the council long ago that funding could be turned down.

"What the county council didn't say was the number of meetings that I've had on this matter and I've been speaking to the city council, county council and two other organisations to put together a package.

"I think an announcement could be made in the next few weeks."

But Coun Eyre said Mr Foster had seduced the authority into making a bid against its better judgement.

She said she was unaware of his work to rebuild the school.

"I have no idea what he's talking about. Is he playing politics with our children's lives? I'm not aware that he's involved in any way at all."

Mrs Eyre said the redevelopment plans were a slow process but the county council was continuing to "put one step in front of the other".

She said Christopher Whitehead Language College students still managed to achieve good results despite the facilities.