The team behind Bradford's ground-breaking city academy is planning to build a second one.

Just days after Conservative leader David Cameron announced the party was abandoning support for selective grammar schools in favour of academies, Bradford's hugely-successful Dixons school says it wants to build another one.

Dixons City Academy - one of the first in the country - has become one of the district's top-performing state schools since it was launched in 1990 and demand for places is hugely over-subscribed.

The plans for a new 1,100-pupil city academy, on an as yet undisclosed site, could be a big boost for secondary education in the city centre which is still performing at well below the national average. Dixons City Academy principal, Nick Weller, said: "The number of secondary school children in Bradford is going through a small dip but in coming years the number of young people in the district is set to rise, in contrast to most other cities.

"In our opinion, at some stage Bradford is going to need another secondary school.

"We would like that school to be a second Dixons Academy."

Mr Weller said he had attended a meeting with Bradford Council education bosses at which the plan was outlined.

He stressed the scheme remained in its early stages but added he hoped the school, which would eventually incorporate a sixth form, could open in the city within five years.

No sponsors have yet been approached but Mr Weller said he was optimistic that the proposal would get Government backing.

"The Government expects its academies, and particularly high-performing ones like Dixons, to work with other schools collaboratively and also to expand and offer more places or set up new schools," he said "As a high-performing school we have a duty to take on that role and ideally this will be on our home soil in Bradford.

"Dixons is one of very few ethnically-mixed schools in Bradford and any new school would have a similar character."

Dixons City Academy, which is sponsored by Britain's largest electrical retailer, is now heavily over-subscribed. It received a total of 712 applications this year for 165 Year 7 places from September.

Around 70 parents unsuccessful in their first application also appealed. Just two decisions were reversed.

"We need a new site to keep up with the level of demand," added Mr Weller. "At the moment we are turning people away."

Prospective pupils must sit an exam to enter. However, the West Bowling school ensures an all-ability intake by selecting broadly equal numbers of students from different achievement bands.

The same system would be used if a second academy based on the Dixons' model was to be built.

"What we have at Dixons is unique in my experience and we think more young people in Bradford should benefit from that," said Mr Weller.

He added that now both the Government and Conservative Party had embraced academies, they were set to be "the major force in driving improvement and change in education in the next ten to 20 years".

Tony Reeves, chief executive of Bradford Council, said: "We speak regularly to all our education institutions and when we met with Dixons City Academy they raised their aspirations for another academy to be built.

"Talks are at a very early stage but our primary concern is to increase attainment across the district and we will consider any proposals that will achieve this."

The DfES is aware of the proposal.

Bradford Academy will be the second to launch in the city when it opens its doors in September.

Plans have also been mooted to give Rhodesway School in Allerton academy status.

But Philip Shackleton, Bradford branch secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said he did not want to see any more academies built in the city.

He said: "We have now got 200 around the country and from September two in Bradford.

"We do not agree with privatisation in education as it takes away from local authorities their ability to plan strategically.

"Dixons may have done well but there are umpteen others up and down the country which have not."

Pam Milner, Bradford branch spokesman for the NASUWT, said: "Bradford's children deserve the best. The Government should be funding Bradford community schools to the standard it is funding academies."

Dixons CTC opened in 1990 and was one of the first wave of schools piloting the standards and processes which later defined the academy status created by Tony Blair.