Pupils at Bradford schools have fewer teachers, books and resources than their neighbours in Leeds, it was claimed today.

John Player, head of Grange Upper School, was speaking at the launch of a campaign by all 25 district secondary school heads at The Bankfield Hotel in Bingley this morning.

They signed a letter to city councillors asking for an extra £18 million to be put directly into their schools in the next three years.

"The simple fact of the matter is at my school there are 1,200 pupils and 63 teachers. A school the same size in Leeds would have an extra £361,000 a year, which would pay for 12 more teachers and give me £70,000 to spend on books, computers and other resources," said Mr Player.

Other heads spoke of cash constraints forcing them to shed senior teachers and keep class sizes high. They say they have been driven to stand up to their employers after years of underfunding. Bradford heads now faced annual choices between more teachers or new books, according to group members.

They say Bradford is trying to achieve results on the cheap. he city spends £1,733 per year on each pupil, placing it 134th out of 150 local education authorities.

The heads complain that the authority uses a third of the education budget for central services - a figure much higher than the national average.

Councillor Jim Flood, chairman of the City Council Education Committee, denied that Bradford neglected its schools.

"Only a half of one per cent goes into administration for education. The rest - the other 32.5 per cent - is spent on things like special educational needs, section 11 funding, outdoor pursuits centres and things like debt charges."

He added that the SSA figures was misleading and did not reflect the true facts.

Year on year cash increases from the government are put directly into the service, he said.

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