Bradford's privatised education service has scored double the national average rise in the number of pupils scoring five good GCSE grades.

Serco - the firm now running education in the district - saw the number of pupils scoring five A-C grade passes rise from 33 per cent to 35 per cent - double the national increase in results.

But the company, which took over education in the district last summer, failed in its first year to hit a 40 per cent target set as part of its ten-year £360 million contract.

It stood to gain bonuses of hundreds of thousands of pounds if it hit 40 per cent, but early indications are it has fallen short.

The provisional 35 per cent total could change as not all schools have finalised their results. Some are involved in appeals and negotiations with exam boards.

Councillor David Ward, executive member for education, said: "It's unlikely there will be incentive payments as the target of 40 per cent has not been achieved, nor has there been a five per cent increase from 33 to 38 per cent. But we have done above average. I am happy with the staggering level of improvements in some schools. It's now about making sure we do that across the board."

Mark Pattison, managing director of Education Bradford, said: "I have always said this is not a quick fix but a long term programme of change. We are pleased with the progress that has been made so far. This first year has been about laying the foundations for the future."

Some schools in the district - those near the bottom of the league table - registered dramatic increases in their GCSE results this year.

Bradford Cathedral Comm-unity College in East Bowling, fourth lowest in the country in 2001, tripled its success rate from five per cent to 17 per cent this summer.

At Tong School the numbers gaining five A-C passes leapt from 16 to 34 per cent.

Most other schools managed a two or three percentage point increase including traditional high performers like Bingley and Ilkley Grammars. But there were drops at some middle-ranking comprehensives inclu-ding Salt Grammar at Baildon where the numbers gaining five A-C passes dropped by double figures, and at Thornton Grammar where the figure dropped from 44 to 37 per cent.

Bruce Berry, head at Belle Vue Boys' School and the convenor of the Bradford Upper School Heads' association, said: "When a new organisation such as Serco takes over it takes a while before it can establish itself and have an impact. I think the real test will come in three or four years. Personally I don't think the figure of 40 per cent this year was ever realistic.

"Heads and teachers in every secondary school are working as hard as they can to improve results."

The education service was contracted out to the private sector after Ofsted castigated the old Bradford LEA, saying it was failing local children.

Serco was brought in on a mission to drive up the district's poor standards which last year left Bradford in 136th place out of 149 in the country for GCSE, and in rock bottom place in the primary league tables.

The targets for new-look Education Bradford include increasing the headline GCSE figure to 45 per cent in 2003 and 50 per cent in 2004.

If the company meets all its targets, it can earn bonuses of between £1 million and £2 million per year.