Bradford has failed in its bid to turn two of the city's most deprived areas into experimental education action zones, it was announced today.

A cluster of schools in the Manningham and Bradford South areas both submitted applications to the Department for Education for funding to create the initiatives - seen as a way raising standards in areas of deprivation.

Today's announcement by David Blunkett, Secretary of State for Education and Employment, that neither bid has been in a 25-strong list of pioneering projects was described as a major blow for the district.

Frances Marslen-Wilson, head of Bradford Education Authority's policy unit, said: "The action zones are being set up to help areas of deprivation and Manningham is certainly one in terms of unemployment."

Under the Labour initiative each action zone, comprising of 20-30 schools, would receive a £750,000 handout over three years to be matched by resources from schools, education authorities, the community and businesses.

Alan Hall, headteacher at Belle Vue Girls, led the £1.5million LEA-backed bid for Manningham and Heaton. He said: "I'm very disappointed, but I wouldn't say it was 100 per cent unexpected. The DFEE has made a lot of noise recently about the fact it wanted the bids to be radical - perhaps ours wasn't radical enough?"

The aim of the Manningham bid was to get parents more involved in youngster's education by setting up homework centres and out-of-school study clubs.

And the cluster of schools - which includes St Bede's Grammar, Scotchman Middle and Lilycroft Nursery - had hoped to use the Government windfall to forge unique links with Bradford's National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.

Neil Stoddart, assistant director of Bradford Education Authority, said: "It's frustrating because we've identified an area of need but we don't have the funding to rectify the problem."

And Bradford Council leader, Councillor Ian Greenwood said: "We are very sad. We have had no feedback so we don't know why it failed."

The second bid was tabled independently by a cluster of schools in Bradford South including Tong Upper and Bowling Community College. The group had hoped to use the cash to improve standards of literacy and numeracy in the community.

Mr Stoddart added: "Now we've got to work out where we go from here."

A bid in Halifax, involving 29 schools, was among the zones to be approved. It involves creating a local learning network; centres of excellence in arts and business studies, computing and ICT and parenting classes at primary schools.

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