A Bradford firm is playing a key role in the future of the district's schools - and is taking on extra staff to carry out the work on time.

The expanding Robinson Design Group is hoping to pick up a £40 million contract for its work on the new-look schools.

The group is working for Bovis Lend Lease which is managing the massive schools refurbishment programme for Bradford Council which is part of the £171 million re-organisation currently taking place.

It has had to take on an extra six people to make sure the work is carried out on time and is pulling out the stops to finish the job.

The company carried out a feasibility study of 78 schools for Bovis Lend Lease before they were awarded the management contract.

The firm has so far been asked to draw up plans for a total of 39 schools and is hoping to do the same for at least another 39. It is one of three companies asked to draw up plans for nearly 160 schools involved in the refurbishment programme.

At the beginning of the new school year the group handed back five schools they were working on for the re-organisation programme. They were on a priority list for refubishment work which has been completed and are Poplars Farm, Knowleswood, Lowerfields, New Hall Park and Addingham.

Another five schools for refurbishment are currently out to tender with the intention to make an immediate start on site. Further schools are also due out for tender in the near future. The group has just started to finalise layouts and designs of a further eleven schools. This is a joint process involving Robinson Design Group, Bovis Lend Lease and each school head.

Tony Mobbs, managing director of Robinson Architects, part of the group, said: "The programme is by no means an easy undertaking. It is very demanding and has presented Robinson Design Group with a challenging task. Ensuring that schools are not only handed over on time but to the required specification and standard is vital. However our comprehensive quality assurance procedures are all in place to deal with the task, and we remain confident that the work schedule will go to plan."

All the projects the group is involved in involves either the refurbishment of middle schools being converting to primary school status, or primary schools being extended to accommodate larger pupil numbers per academic year.

Robinson Architects also assisted Bovis Lend Lease with the Transitional Needs Programme to provide over 50 temporary classrooms to 16 school sites during the summer holidays.