BUILDING work at Ilkley Grammar School is behind schedule and now the contractors are planning to work extra hours to catch up.

The school needs extra accommodation to house 1,5000 pupils from September when the former Middle School site in Valley Road closes and all the students move to Cowpasture Road.

The builders, Bovis Lend Lease, have applied for planning permission to extend working hours on the site.

Very cold weather in the early part of the year and high winds are being blamed for the delays.

The cold meant that concrete could not be laid and the winds interfered with steel erection.

But the contractors, school staff and the education authority remain confident that the completion date will be met despite concerns from the school's governors.

Richard Jennings, Ilkley Grammar School Lower School site head and the school's building project manager, said: "They lost some time with strong winds when they were trying to put up the steel structure.

"What they are trying to do is put forward an accelerated building programme which will allow them to catch up time."

He said that contractors and school staff explained the problem to local residents at a meeting two weeks ago and were given the green light to apply for extra working hours.

If the planning application is passed, it will allow an extra hour of work per day to be carried out and an extra half-day on Saturdays.

A spokesman for the planning office in Ilkley said that neighbours and interested parties had until May 22 to respond to the planning application.

Mr Jennings said he was 'absolutely' confident that the building work would be completed in time for the school to open in the autumn term.

School governor Martin Smith said he became worried about whether the building work would be finished when he visited the site last month.

"I wrote to the chief executive about five or six weeks ago complaining that the project seemed to have stalled. If there is any delay penalty clauses will be enforced and the contractors will have to assist the school in moving.

"When I visited the school I was disappointed in the progress. They weren't working long days and there did not seem to be enough people on site.

"There have been meetings with the residents - they want it out of the way as soon as possible. It is struggling at the moment. This application has meant that probably they are working hard to try and get the project completed."

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: "Bovis has assured us that work is on schedule for the school to open as planned in September."

And a spokesman for Education Bradford, the private company in charge of delivering Bradford's education service said: "We have been given assurances that the building work at Ilkley Grammar School will be completed by September and the variation to the building work will contribute towards a successful outcome."

Phil Wakefield, Bovis Lend Lease project manager for school re-organisation, said that company had already completed building work at more than 100 schools in the district.

He said: "We are getting quite used to it but it is not without its challenges. We have not failed to date and we don't intend to fail."

As the Gazette went to press yesterday, Ilkley Grammar School head teacher Gillian James was due to attend a meeting with Bradford education officials and contractors to discuss the situation.