Governors at Crossflatts First School believe neighbouring Ryshworth Middle School is in 'very poor condition'.

They say the outside fabric of Ryshworth, which is at the centre of an asbestos scare, is putting children and staff at risk. Pupils at Crossflatts School currently go on to Ryshworth.

In a report to Bradford council, the Crossflatts governors say: "This environment does not reflect our ethos of providing a stimulating, safe, secure environment."

Their claims refer to an asbestos scare at Ryshworth last month when four classrooms had to be sealed off while tests were carried out by the Health and Safety Exec-utive (HSE). A number of pupils were kept at home by very concerned parents.

But Bradford council claimed the building was safe.

This week a Crossflatts parent spoke out in anger about the asbestos threat.

Susan Betteridge, whose daughter attends Ryshworth, says she was very reluctant to send her back to school after the Christmas break. In a letter to the Keighley News this week, Mrs Betteridge says: "I feel I have forced my daughter to play a long, slow game of Russian Roulette and I might add that no parent should be put into this situation. My daughter deserves, in this day and age, an education in a totally safe environment. No one has been able to assure me that she will be 100 per cent safe from the asbestos at the school."

She believes asbestos should be 'removed from every school it contaminates as soon as possible'.

The letter was also sent to the chairman of Bradford council's education committee Cllr Jim Flood.

A Bradford council spokes-man says: "In line with HSE recommendations, asbestos surveys and any necessary air tests were recently done at this school and other schools in the area which contain asbestos products by the council. These tests, as with previous tests, confirmed that children and staff were not at risk. The asbestos at Ryshworth Middle is contained in cement which is unlikely to release fibres."

Asbestos was first found at the school in the early 1990s and conditions are said to have since deteriorated.

The deep-seated concern about the site also stems from the fact that under the present schools review proposals, recently submitted to the Department for Education and Employment for a final decision, Ryshworth is to become a primary school.

The report by the governors at Crossflatts First School was noted by members of the council's resources and buildings sub-committee on Wednesday.

Buildings officers support the claim that the site needs major repair and the school has been incorporated into the council's bid for New Deal for Schools - a scheme which funds improvements.

Under the council's proposals, all middle schools are to close, first schools are to become primary schools and upper schools are to be turned into secondary schools.

If education secretary David Blunkett approves the proposals, changes to sites and school statuses will begin this Sept-ember and it is hoped they will be completed by September 2001.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.