Education bosses in Bury are urging the government to back major plans for a new 600-place high school in Radcliffe.
The project has been put forward by Star Academies, which oversees 28 other schools, and revealed its intentions to open a £15m new school last year.
It would be the first time since 2014 that residents in the town have access to local secondary education.
A bid for funding, backed by Bury Council and Star Academies, has been submitted to Whitehall, but councillors now want Chancellor Rishi Sunak to publicly support the plans.
Funds for the school would come from the government's Free School project, and a site on Spring Lane, where Radcliffe Riverside School used to be based has been earmarked as a possible location.
Plans stated that initially the school would accommodate 600 pupils, with capacity to expand to 1,000 places.
Coun Tamoor Tariq, Bury cabinet member for children’s services, said: “Parents in Radcliffe have waited years for the chance to send their children to a local high school.
"We ask the chancellor to finally give us some good news today and give Radcliffe families the educational opportunities they need and deserve.”
Council leader Eamonn O’Brien added: “A new high school is absolutely crucial to our ambitious plans to regenerate and transform Radcliffe for generations to come.
"We’ve waited too long – now is the time for the Government to approve these plans and bring some Christmas cheer to the town.”
Despite a population of almost 30,000 at the last census, all of the Radcliffe's secondary school aged youngsters must attend a school outside of the town.
Currently, the area's pupils make up of 15.5 per cent of the students in all Bury schools.
And at present, 36 per cent of Radcliffe children currently travel further than 2.5 miles to attend a high school outside the town — compared to 18 per cent of pupils in other areas of the borough.
