Bradford is one of the country's truancy hotspots which will be tackled by new Government measures.

A £66 million crackdown on truancy and bad behaviour in schools was announced yesterday. Measures include anti-truancy sweeps in 80 hotspots like Bradford and anger management courses during the summer holidays for bad-tempered students. Every day, more than 50,000 pupils fail to go to school in England.

Welfare officers will soon be trawling the streets in areas particularly affected to try to boost the numbers of students attending.

Education Secretary Estelle Morris said at a behaviour "summit" in London yesterday: "Bad behaviour and truancy are two of the biggest challenges facing schools today. "

Some youngsters could be sent on residential courses in the school holidays which included compulsory anger management and social skills sessions.

Councillor David Ward was thrilled with the possibility of additional funding.

He said: "We cannot really do enough to improve on attendance which is the most important correlation with achievement."