Work to rebuild and refurbish Leicester's secondary schools will start at Rushey Mead in April.

A scaled down plan for the city's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project was given the go ahead by the Government just before Christmas.

Leicester City Council has made savings of £31 million (14 per cent) from a pot of about £218 million which remains to be spent.

Education secretary Michael Gove asked for cuts of up to 40 per cent last October but education bosses at the council said they managed to keep reductions to a minimum.

It means plans for the 21 schools have been scaled back and some may now be refurbished instead of rebuilt.

Work on Rushey Mead had been due to start before Christmas but was subsequently brought to a halt.

About £500,000 has now been shaved off the £19.6 million budget for the school, in Melton Road.

Costs are being saved on fixtures and fittings. The council has admitted this will mean a lower standard of refurbishment and higher maintenance costs in the future for all the schools in the programme.

Head teacher Carolyn Robson was unavailable for comment yesterday but Councillor Vi Dempster, education spokeswoman for the city council, said: "Now we know exactly how much is left in the BSF budget we are working in partnership with our shared vision.

"The delays and funding reductions are an added complication but I'm confident that we will deliver for all our schools."

It is hoped work on the last school in the programme will begin in January 2013.

The building timetable is being finalised for each school and is not yet available.

In an update to councillors on Leicester's children and young people scrutiny committee, the council's BSF project director Helen Ryan said: "The secretary of state has accepted efficiency savings over the whole of the remaining programme.

"We can now begin to progress all remaining projects.

"The first is Rushey Mead school and the final business case will be presented in the next few weeks with start on site planned for April 2011.

"The remainder of the BSF programme has been mapped out. The latest start on site is January 2013.

"We're starting to work with schools on the cost-cutting compromises on a school-by-school basis and sharing with them further detail on BSF processes and what is expected of them."

Crown Hills and City of Leicester schools are waiting to find out if their BSF projects can continue as they are being funded through a private finance initiative between the Government and the council.

The city's other schools have been given funding by the Department for Education.