The local authority put forward a  bid last October  which aimed to provide 80-place in a secondary school especially made for young individuals who have autism and social, emotional and mental health needs,

It was recently revealed that Northumberland had been successful in its bid and, at its meeting on Tuesday (April 9), the cabinet agreed to begin a formal competition for a trust which would run the school.

"I'm delighted and I would like to recognise the work of the staff to get us to this stage," he said. "Next is getting that partner with a really successful track record that we can work with."

Council leader Peter Jackson added: "I absolutely commend the work of the staff in getting to this stage.

"There's a real structural issue of increasing numbers of young people with special educational needs and, as a local authority, we are at the forefront of tackling this."