Thirteen Bradford head teachers are jetting off to the Caribbean isle of Barbados next week.

The trip has been arranged through Serco Learning, part of the parent company of Educat-ion Bradford.

The aim is to foster links between schools in Barbados and Bradford and gain understanding that could combat under-achievement by African-Carib-bean pupils - a nationally-recognised problem.

But one of the group, Richard Liddington, today admitted he only has one African-Caribbean pupil on roll at his school, Idle CE Primary.

The trip is partly funded through travel grants of £500 a head supplied by charity the League of Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers (LECT).

"Most of those going are staying with host families, not me unfortunately, we are having to go into a hotel, but it's not a luxury hotel," said Mr Liddington, who stressed that he was making the trip in his own time, and there was no cost to the school.

He admitted some people had questioned the value of the Caribbean trip and suggested an exchange visit to Pakistan or India would be more relevant.

"But schools already have links with those countries," he said. "There is massive under-achievement by African Caribbean pupils nationally, and this is a way of developing positive role models among the Caribbean community. The corresponding heads will also visit the UK."

Another member of the party, Fran Warden, head at Spring-wood Primary in Manningham, said she had been told by Serco not to make any comments.

A spokesman for Education Bradford said: "This trip was not arranged by Education Bradford and we haven't financed it."

Mark Logan, of Serco Learn-ing, part of Education Brad-ford's parent company, said the company had offered the opportunity to travel to Barbados to head teachers in three areas of the country where it has contracts: Bradford, Walsall, and Manchester. He said the link with Barbados had been formed when Serco had done work for the authorities there.