THE appointment of top consultants to try to improve Bradford's dismal education record could also prove good news for Illkey's high-flying schools, says a governor.

In a bid to lift Bradford off the bottom rung of the ladder the local education authority has called in the internationally renowned firm Pricewaterhouse-Coopers to design a model to work with external private partners.

The consultant was appointed by the council from a shortlist last week and it will make recommendations in the next fortnight.

But although schools in the Wharfe Valley do not suffer from the same lack of achievement as many other schools in the district, Ilkley Grammar School governor and Tory district councillor Martin Smith believes pupils in this area could still benefit from the exercise.

Coun Smith said: "Relative to the quality of performance in the Wharfe Valley we have had no major problems but it would be complacent to say we haven't any problems.

"It will prove that given the resources we could have achieved even more."

Coun Smith accused Bradford Council of starving schools of resources to the tune of as much as £400 per year, per pupil. "You can put in an awful lot of resources for pupils if you have that sort of money spare," said Coun Smith.

The move follows a damning Ofsted report into the local education authority which revealed serious and chronic underfunding.

Coun Smith said: "We need to find out where all the money has been going and it will be good news for us in the final analysis if we come up with more funds for schools.

"It could be an improvement for Ilkley schools and lead to more funding and greater control of the services that we offer.

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