PUPILS at a Bradford school are mounting a charm offensive to help recruit 15 new teachers by creating their own promotional video highlighting the positives of working there.

Laisterdyke Business and Enterprise College has found itself in the news for the wrong reasons in the past year, with its governing body being removed last spring and replaced with a board of Bradford Council-appointed executives.

The controversy has since overshadowed other things going on at the school, and pupils and staff felt it was time to promote the positive side of life at the secondary school in Bradford Moor.

The school is trying to fill roles include lead teacher for music, director of English and literacy and lead teacher of key stage five science.

The Year 8 GCSE drama students worked with the schools business manager, Helen Casson to develop a recruitment video that would introduce prospective teachers to the faces and personalities of the school in the hope of breaking down any pre-conceptions there may be about working within a secondary school in the centre of Bradford.

Teaching unions have told the Telegraph & Argus that many young teachers are put off from applying for jobs in some of Bradford's schools due to the district struggling in educational league tables.

But the newly-created video focuses on the positives of working in Bradford.

Pupils talk about the school's friendly atmosphere and multicultural make up, while staff, many of whom are relatively new to the profession, talk about the support they receive at the school and the good relationship with pupils.

Mrs Casson said: “The students really embraced the task, they were real showmen, and to my surprise completed their parts in one-take; unlike the staff who were slightly more nervous."

Of the 15 vacancies, six are as a result of staff leaving at the end of the academic year, four are due to internal re-organisation, and five were created to improve provision.

School principal Jen McIntosh said: “No one says it better than the students. They are an inspiration and we wanted to take proactive action to demonstrate that our school is a great place to work.

"Our pupils really do deserve to have the best education delivered by enthusiastic and proactive teachers and we hope the video demonstrates that.”

The school is recruiting for a lead teacher of art and photography, music, and key stage 5 science, a director of English and literacy, science and HSC, maths and numeracy, and an assistant faculty leader of English and maths. Teachers are also needed in art, science, music, Urdu, psychology, English and maths.

Councillor Ralph Berry, executive for education on Bradford Council, said: "Recruiting more teachers is one of the things we are trying to do to improve education standards. This is a very original approach to doing this.

"Teaching is a calling, it is important for our communities that we get good, positive people into the profession."

Interviews for the positions are planned for next month.