The Government's schools watchdog was today expected to deliver its long-awaited verdict on the way Bradford's beleaguered education service is run.

Today's Ofsted report comes at a crucial time - just a week after the boss of Education Bradford, the private company which runs the district's schools, quit.

Mark Pattison stepped down as Education Bradford's managing director on the day new results for 14-year-olds showed the district to be among the worst performing education authorities in the country.

He has left to take up a newly-formed position as the chief executive in charge of national education strategies for Capita Strategic Education Services, the private firm which will work for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).

Ofsted has been critical of Bradford's education system before, in 2001. Bradford education authority received a damning Ofsted report when inspectors found it was failing. The authority was ranked 140th out of 150 LEAs for its performance at GCSE level.

Following a vote of no confidence, multi-national Serco won the ten-year contract to run the district's schools and set up Education Bradford.

But, in January this year, new GCSE tables showed Bradford had again slipped back to 140th position while the district also had ten schools among the country's worst for unauthorised attendance.

Councillor Phillip Thornton, chairman of Bradford's young people and education improvement committee, responded by hitting out at Education Bradford saying the authority's schools were in the same position now that they were when it took over in 2001.

He also accused it of taking more money but failing to raise standards, and the Council of trying to "generate a culture of low expectation by making things easier" for the company.

The Ofsted inspection report was being made public at a special presentation in City Hall this afternoon attended by senior education officials including the Council's director of education Phil Green and Councillor Dale Smith, the Council's executive member for education.

Serco advertised this week for applicants for the new managing director post, seeking "outstanding leadership, partnership working and communication skills," for the £110,000 a year job.

Trevor Edinburgh will lead the management team until a permanent replacement is found for Mr Pattison.

Applicants for his job have been told Bradford's Education Services are at a "very exciting stages of development."

A pack advertising the job says: "Results are improving faster than those nationally."