The mother of a 13-year-old girl who has not set foot in a classroom for eight months says she would rather be prosecuted than send her daughter to two Bradford schools.

Nichola Allen has not received any form of education since March when her parents took her out of a school in Castleford and came to run the Seven Stars Pub in Greengates.

Cynthia and Kevin Allen had hoped to secure a place for their daughter at Benton Park School, Rawdon, but their application was turned down.

They attended a tribunal in June, but Leeds education chiefs rejected their appeal. Shortly after they were contacted by Bradford Council which offered Nichola a place at Eccleshill Upper School.

Mrs Allen, 42, said: "We haven't lived in the area long, but I've heard Eccleshill is a bad school. So we turned it down and applied to Beckfoot Grammar, Bingley Grammar and Salts Grammar schools.

"They were all full, so I contacted Bradford LEA in September and was told there were places at Carlton Bolling College. But I found out it was just as bad as Eccleshill.

"I haven't heard a thing from the LEA since. I thought if I kept Nichola out of school something would have to be done. I'd rather be prosecuted than send her to Eccleshill or Carlton Bolling."

Mr and Mrs Allen say the demands of running a pub mean they have not had time to tutor Nichola themselves. The only schoolwork she does is the occasional piece of homework delivered by a friend who attends Benton Park.

Mrs Allen said: "We're too busy with the pub. Nichola just sits upstairs all day. She's lost nearly a year's education and I don't know what to do next."

Nichola said she desperately wanted to return to school.

She said: "For the first month it was fun being off school, but now I just find it really boring. I spend most of my time just reading because I love English.

"I just feel that I am missing out on making new friends and learning new subjects."

Neil Donkin, head teacher at Eccleshill Upper School, said he was saddened the family had not made any effort to have a look at his school.

He said: "Mr and Mrs Allen are robbing their child of a basic human right. It's tragic that this teenager is losing out on so much - both educationally and socially."

A Bradford Council education spokesman said parents moving to the district should either contact the authority for advice or approach the school of their choice directly.

He said: "We are very concerned that this child has not been attending school. Now that we are aware of the situation we will visit this family to see what help we can offer."

A spokesman for the Depart-ment of Education said: "The LEA has fulfilled its responsibility to offer this child a place at one of its schools. It is up to the parents to ensure their child attends school and, in this case, they could be prosecuted."

In the Government's schools performance tables published this week Eccleshill had the worst GCSE pass rate in Bradford and the 39th worst in the country. Carlton Bolling College was ranked 23rd out of the 31 Bradford secondary schools for its GCSE results.

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