Union leaders have condemned the list of proposed school closures, claiming the new education system will be marred by feelings of anger and betrayal.

Syd Matthews, spokesman for the Association of Teachers and Lecturers - Bradford's second largest union - attacked the decision to convert Eccleshill Upper and Bowling Community College into church schools.

"It is a devious way of ditching staff at schools which are seen to be struggling," he said. "All their efforts to turn these schools around are ignored."

National Union of Teachers Bradford secretary Ian Murch said the move was disgraceful.

"No one consulted the school about what was to be done. It seems to be the authority giving away the schools because they think there may be some parental perception that they are not as good as other schools," he said..

Bowling Community College and the new CofE church proposed at Woodend will be Government funded.

Director of education Diana Cavanagh said: "We don't expect any teachers to lose their jobs. This is not a way of getting rid of staff."

She said church secondary schools would give greater choice to parents of all faiths, many of whom want to see some religious emphasis at upper school level. Schools had not been selected for closure because they were considered bad schools.

"These proposals are for consultation. We want to see what people think," she said.

The ATL also criticised the plans to let first schools expand onto middle school sites as new primaries. Mr Matthews said the proposals represented the "hi-jacking" of middle school sites and claimed staff who will be made technically redundant would have less choice in redeployment.

Many headteachers have been angered that successful middle schools do not feature in the future plans for Bradford's education.

But the head of Eccleshill Upper, Neil Donkin, said: "I am delighted for our students that there is going to be a secondary school on this site to secure their educational future.."

Joy Wood, headteacher of Nab Wood Middle, which will be absorbed into Nab Wood Grammar, said: "This school was inspected recently by Ofsted inspectors who judged it to be a good school with outstanding features and value for money. It seems ironic that a school praised by inspectors for its standards of numeracy and high standards of literacy should be closed in the Council's bid to raise levels of attainment across the district."

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