In 1969, the first purpose-built middle school opened in Bradford - one of only two in the whole country.

The £163,000 Delf Hill Middle School was regarded as an experimental school, bridging the gap between the child-based approach of primary schools and the subject bias of secondary schools.

Within four years, all Bradford schools had gone three-tier, with Keighley and the Catholic schools following shortly after. In 1995 the Catholic schools reverted to two-tier and on May 16 last year, Bradford Council's controlling Labour group acknowledged that the three-tier system was failing after years of under-funding.

Across the authority, standards were low, results poor. League table after league table repeated a sorry tale of under-achievement, with truancy levels among the highest in the country.

It was quickly accepted by education professionals that Bradford had too many schools. Building costs were high (£27m last year - four times as much as in Birmingham).

There were more than 7,000 spare school places - some schools were overcrowded, others had empty classrooms - and there were too many unviable small schools, ideal for offering a caring and intimate environment but stretched to the limit to deliver the curriculum with quality and choice.

The authority made it clear that 'no change' was not an option. There had to be fewer, larger schools.

The only question remaining was whether to slim down the present system of first, middle and upper schools, or change to a two-tier system of primary and secondary schools. The school review was set up to investigate. And the final report, which came out today, proposes that Bradford goes two-tier.

It was almost an inescapable conclusion from day one, chiefly because the three-tier system is so out of line with the framework of teaching and testing laid down by the National Curriculum in 1988. Since then middle schools have cut across two key stages of the curriculum, disrupting educational continuity for children at nine and 13.

The final report said there was duplication and omission of curriculum elements which hindered pupils' progress.

It added: "Schools will have to close - and communities around those schools will feel an understandable sense of loss."

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