A Bradford secondary school would be £300,000 a year richer if it was in Birmingham, a head teacher told an inquiry into education finances.

Vince McNicholas, head of Yorkshire Martyrs Catholic College, said he had compared funding available to schools in both areas.

He found two with similar pupils - Queensbury which 1,187 and one in Birmingham with 1,185.

He said: "If Queensbury was in Birmingham it would have an extra £300,000 in its budget," he told yesterday's hearing which is being conducted by Bradford Council's Education Scrut-iny Committee.

"Nationally, secondary schools in Bradford are dramatically under-funded.

"Last year was extremely tough. The cuts are really starting to bite."

Mr McNicholas said secondary schools' bank balances were worse than primary schools.

He suggested that primary schools could use some of their reserves to help their finances.

And he said Bradford was not an easy place to recruit staff to at the moment.

But he also said he had 200 per cent more confidence in the system under Education Bradford than he had had under the old system.

"They will listen and work with you rather than tell you what to do then walk away," he said.

Pauline Anderson, head teacher of Haworth Primary School and representing primary heads, said any primary school with money in its bank account would have plans for it.

She also said primary head teachers were concerned about the amount taken to pay Education Bradford before the cash went out to schools.