Bradford education 'letting pupils down'

The report said to few teenagers were staying on

Many young people in Bradford, the scene of race riots last summer, are leaving school with no qualifications, the education watchdog warned.

Inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education in England found there was "no coherent" plan for the education of youngsters over the age of 16.

Pupils' achievement at GCSE was "considerably below the national average", as were staying on rates, the Ofsted report said.

Our young people deserve better

Higher Education Minister Margaret Hodge

Among those teenagers who did stay on in school or college beyond 16, completion and pass rates on many courses were low.

And some sixth forms were too small and did not offer students a suitable range of courses, the inspectors said.

The critical Ofsted report on post-16 education in the city came after analysis of the community by Lord Ouseley and Ted Cantle - in the wake of last summer's race riots - suggested education could play a greater role in uniting the city's different communities.

Like Ouseley and Cantle, Ofsted inspectors noted racial and cultural divisions in schools.

'Deserve better'

The Higher Education Minister, Margaret Hodge, added her weight to the matter, saying the city's young people deserved better.

"Despite the efforts of schools, colleges and training providers, there is still a great deal to be done to raise standards in Bradford's post-16 education," said Mrs Hodge.

"I have therefore called for a radical and fundamental review of post-16 education in Bradford and have asked the Learning and Skills Council for West Yorkshire to take urgent action."

Private contractor

Education services in the city were taken out of local authority hands two years ago and were taken over by the private company, Bradford Education.

But Ofsted inspectors said the impact of the changes were still to be felt.

Director of Bradford Education Phil Green admitted: "The report is timely and provides us with a clear agenda for moving forwards on post-16 education and training in the district with our partners."

Margaret Coleman, executive director of Learning and Skills Council (LSC) for West Yorkshire - which is responsible for post-16 education - said: "Whilst the report recognises that most teaching is good and teachers support their students well, there are areas for improvement."

"We must make a real and concerted effort to improve the learning experience for young people in Bradford.

"There are important issues to tackle where there is inadequate and poor provision and there will be no room for sub-standard quality," she said.