BRIGHTON Hill Community College (BHCC) in Basingstoke has scooped the title School of the Year 2004 in the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) Awards.

LTA president Charles Trippe and chief executive John Crowther will present college PE teacher Madeline Probyn with the award at the LTA awards ceremony, which will be held at the All England Club in Wimbledon next Monday.

The success of tennis at the college has been largely attributed to a partnership that has developed with Totally Tennis, the largest tennis provider in Basingstoke.

Coaches from the club run year-round coaching sessions before and after school and during curriculum time, as well as providing the pupils with access to the club's facilities.

This formula of clubs and schools working together has been recognised by the Government as a model for providing sport in schools.

Funding has been made available to develop these links through the PE and School Sport Club Link (PESSCL) programme.

At BHCC, tennis has been selected as a focus sport within this programme and awarded £750,000 over a three-year period to enhance and expand the links between schools and clubs.

"We are delighted to have won the LTA School of the Year award," said Madeline Probyn, the school's PE teacher who co-ordinates all the tennis activities.

"The sport has really taken off since the link with Totally Tennis developed and we are so thankful to the coaches who deserve a great deal of credit for this award."

Nigel Long, coaching director of Totally Tennis, said: "We are really pleased that Brighton Hill's dedication to tennis has been recognised and we have really enjoyed working with them over a period of 10 years."

He continued: "Three of our coaches are former BHCC pupils and the programme that we run at the school has produced, to date, three national players, one of whom has secured a tennis scholarship at an American university."

As well as the coaching programme, BHCC and Totally Tennis sponsor and run together primary and secondary school leagues and tournaments for all schools in the area, providing all players with the opportunity of competitive tennis throughout the year.

Schools were short-listed on the quality time devoted to tennis within the curriculum, opportunities for extra-curricular practice and competition, the development of talent through academic flexibility and active participation in LTA initiatives.

At the awards, Tim Henman won top recognition for his outstanding form throughout the season and for his continuing support at the grass-roots level of British tennis.

He reached both the French Open and US Open semi-finals, as well as the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.