The private company which ran Bradford schools for a decade received more than £5 million in performance-related bonuses after hitting two-thirds of its targets.

Strategic incentive targets were used by Bradford Council with the intention of driving up educational standards through its contract with Education Bradford from 2001.

Under the original terms of the deal, the firm was expected to bring pupils’ performance up to national averages in areas such as GCSEs and Standards Assessment Tests (SATS).

It was also measured against targets for reducing exclusions, bullying, racism and bringing schools out of Ofsted categories of concern.

Councillor Ian Greenwood, leader of the Labour group and Council leader, said: “We always thought that the initial target was probably unrealistic, but they signed a contact on that basis. In the early years they didn’t deliver, but it later years they have improved but we didn’t get to where we wanted to be."

See Thursday's T&A for the full story including more reaction