A consortium has been awarded a £400 million contract to refurbish and rebuild every secondary school in Bradford.

Integrated Bradford has been chosen to run the ten-year Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

The first phase will mean Tong School, Buttershaw High and Salt Grammar in Baildon being knocked down and replaced with "iconic and inspirational" designs by 2008.

And every student in each of the three schools will be provided with his or her own portable computer.

Over the next ten years the consortium will rebuild or replace all 28 secondary schools in the district.

Phase two of the project will include three new special schools located together on mainstream sites at Greenhead in Keighley, Beckfoot School in Bingley and Grange Technology College.

A consortium called Integrated Bradford has been formed to carry out the BSF project in the district.

Bradford Council staged a conference in 2004 which was attended by 250 delegates from companies interested in being involved.

This was narrowed down to three bidders who were asked to come up with detailed designs for the first three schools in phase one and a business plan for the rest of the project.

Integrated Bradford comprises facilities management company Amey, the builder Costain, HSBC bank and Sun Microsystems which will provide the information technology.

The first three school building projects have already got outline planning permission and detailed designs are expected to be submitted by the end of February.

Phil Green, Bradford Council's director of education, said: "The most advanced building we have in Bradford is Challenge College but these will be a major step forward from that.

"We have involved the schools, the parents and whole community in the areas and looked at a 21st Century curriculum and what needs to be provided."

Mr Green said the schools would be designed to include a central street through the buildings and central atriums which could be used for presentations and performances.

And he said the Council believed the BSF project would help to raise standards across the district.

Six years ago Bradford Council embarked on a major school rebuilding project when schools were reorganised from a three-tier to a two-tier system.

Earlier this month it was revealed that more than a third of the 132 schools involved still had problems with building defects - six years on.

However staff from Tong, Buttershaw High and Salt Grammar have all been involved in the selection of the builder and in the designs of the new schools for the BSF programme.

Bradford Council's assistant chief executive Mark Carriline told the Telegraph & Argus that Integrated Bradford would be paid by monthly instalments and if problems occurred with the buildings then cash would be docked.

Integrated Bradford has agreed a deal to maintain the buildings for 25 years.

Salt Grammar head teacher Sue Mansfield said: "We have a real opportunity here to provide 21st Century school buildings."

Lyn O'Reilly, head teacher at Tong School in Westgate Hill Street, said: "What we are aiming for is an inspirational building which is closer to the community than our existing site.

"It will be on the A650 and will be well lit, providing a fantastic gateway into the city.

"We hope the new building will raise attainment in teaching and learning and transform education to inspire the pupils."