AROUND a dozen Ilkley teachers may be forced to apply for jobs outside the area because of the Bradford schools review.

Under the change from a three-tier to a two-tier education system, a massive redeployment exercise of 1,000 teachers has been under way as the district's middle schools are prepared for closure.

The first stage of staff replacements in Ilkley was completed last week and National Union of Teachers representative Ian Murch said there were more teachers than jobs advertised.

"There were about 10 or 12 who did not get a place in the area - there will be disappointed people out there," said Mr Murch.

He said that there would be further meetings when it becomes clear exactly how many teachers are needed.

Mr Murch said: "We will expect by the end of the process the vast majority of teachers will get a job, but some will not get the job they wanted - it is very disruptive to education."

In a separate development, head teachers of new primary schools in Bradford have emulated a ground-breaking move by head teachers of upper schools to try and get the local authority to release more cash for education.

Government figures released this year show that Bradford spends less on schools than most other local authorities.

The Designated Primary Heads Working Party on Funding is demanding that Bradford spends up to Government set guidelines .

Chairman Gill Edge, head teacher of St Paul's C of E First School, said: "The opinion was that parents and teachers had been promised a better-than-now scenario through the review and there was a strong feeling that it had been watered down tremendously."

She said that head teachers supported the change of educations system but she added that it was vital the new

primary schools were well funded by the local authority.

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