A school placed in special measures almost two years ago is still failing to provide a satisfactory level of education, a new report shows.

Wyke Manor School was condemned as failing by Ofsted inspectors who placed the school into the special measures category in April 2004. As a result, the school is now monitored every term by inspectors.

And although the latest inspection report has praised the school's progress, it still found that the school needed to remain in special measures.

The report said pupils do not make the progress they should between the ages of 11 and 16 and that the behaviour and attitude of children is not as good as it should be.

The number of pupils who achieved five A* to C GCSE grades rose from 20 per cent in 2004 to 21 per cent last year. But this figure is well below the Bradford average of 45 per cent.

And the number of Wyke Manor pupils who achieved five GCSEs A* to Cs which included English and maths fell from 14 per cent to nine per cent.

The report highlights behaviour as a problem but says the school is making satisfactory progress in improving it.

It also praises the school for reducing fixed-term exclusions and exceeding targets for pupil attendance and says it has made satisfactory progress overall since the last monitoring inspection.

Wyke Manor has just joined in a partnership with Bradford's most successful state school, Dixon's City Academy, in a bid to raise standards Dixon's was formed as a city technology college in West Bowling in 1990 and became Bradford's first city academy last term.

Last year 99 per cent of its pupils achieved five A* to C GCSE grades.

Dixon's head teacher Dwayne Saxton has taken over the head's job at Wyke this term, while the city academy's former principal Sir John Lewis has been appointed as the chief executive of the partnership between the two schools.

However, Sir John and Mr Saxton declined to comment on Wyke Manor's latest inspection report because the visit in December took place before Wyke and Dixon's launched their formal partnership.

Wyke Manor has been in special measures for 21 months.

The Government is now threatening to close schools which remain in the failing category for 12 months and fail to show improvement. Under the existing system a school can remain in special measures for up to six years.

But the Government's white paper, unveiled last year, includes plans to shut down schools which are in special measures for more than a year.