AYLESFORD Secondary School's chances of receiving Specialist School Status received a major boost this week when headmaster Ian Carruthers announced a new partnership deal with Gillingham Football Club.

The school needs to raise £50,000 in sponsorship, in return for which it will receive an extra £100,000 of funding from the government and a further £500,000 over the next four years.

The link with Gillingham initially came about when the Division One club's Tommy Johnson moved to Kent this summer and was contacted by Aylesford's head of PE, Sharon Hendy, whose best friend used to go out with Johnson's ex-Notts County and Aston Villa teammate Mark Draper.

Johnson was present at the press conference to announce the deal, alongside Gillingham chairman Paul Scally, who said: "We're calling on parents and local businesses etc to sponsor the bid, and to support our function on May 2, which will be hosted by Jack Charlton.

"We're very pleased with the initial response, as already Aylesford Newsprint have said they'll be helping us and this is successful we believe it could be the start of other projects."