Work on the new school will start in summer 2005

An application for the North Bristol Institute had already been submitted and accepted by the city council.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced on Thursday it has decided not to "call in" the proposals for a public inquiry.

A school for 11 to 16-year-olds and a sixth form centre will now be built on a site on Redland Court Road.

Work is likely to start next June.

Schools linked

The government said that objections to the proposals were not significant enough to warrant its involvement.

Councillor Claire Cook said: "This is fantastic news for parents and children in Bristol."

An application to use an additional site at Charnwood for post-16 education will be submitted in March.

The Institute will be part of the Bristol Campus scheme to link up the city's secondary schools.

It will house more than 945 pupils aged 11 to 16 and around 450 sixth form students.

Four schools in the city - Cotham, Henbury, Monks Park and Portway - will be affected by the creation of the Institute, which will be partly set into the hillside at Redland Court, with a seeded roof.