Top Premiership manager David O'Leary is to appear in a video to help a Keighley school raise cash to secure its sports college status.

The Leeds United manager has agreed to talk about Oakbank School's work as a centre of sporting excellence on the video, which will be used to encourage companies to sponsor the venture.

The school was at the centre of a storm last summer after its sports college status was removed following questions over how it raised sponsorship money in the town.

But after an investigation sparked by School's Minister Estelle Morris and lobbying by Keighley MP Ann Cryer, the minister said she was prepared to reinstate the status, so long as the school raised £75,000 in new sponsorship.

Oakbank already had £40,000 pledged, and staff and pupils have been working to raise the balance, so far reaching £17,000.

Head of sport Helen Plimmer said they had written to Mr O'Leary asking him to appear in the film.

"We're delighted that he said that he would," she said. We have yet to speak to him directly about how he will feature.But we're hoping that his support will encourage others to get involved and sponsor us."

The promotional video is being produced and funded by Bradford-based Advance Visual Communication, run by Mike Smith of Oakworth, and students have already been filming activities at the school.

"The aim is to take the video with us to companies and use it as part of a presentation," said Helen. "It will tell them what happens at the school and what our plans are and urge them to support us."

The money raised is to be spent on building an all-weather pitch to be used by both by the school and the community. It will be suitable for soccer, hockey, tennis and cricket.

A series of other money-spinning ventures is planned for the rest of the year, including a sportsman's dinner at the Three Sisters Hotel, at Haworth, on May 24.

A hockey festival has been planned for July 1 and later a corporate sports day is to be arranged for local companies. And throughout the summer the school is holding a fitness challenge in which people will be invited to compete in the school's fitness suite. The top five will take part in a head-to-head later in the summer at a fund-raising school festival.

Helen said the school was hoping to raffle a car at the same event and was looking for a garage company willing to supply the vehicle. Tickets would be sold throughout the summer. Many local people had already been very generous in offering sponsorship.

Oakbank has to have a progress report ready to present to the minister by next month, outlining the details of their fund-raising events.

The school stands to receive £100,000 a year to help it run its sports college, to spend on salaries and equipment - for the next three years.

l The financial irregularities involved the way Oakbank used money raised at its recreation centre as a source of sponsorship.

Estelle Morris said it was re-cycling public funds and did not constitute an acceptable source of sponsorship for the purposes of the application for sports college status.

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