THE head of a Bradford academy chain has called for a major shake up of the education system to help improve standards in the North.

Sir Nick Weller of Dixons Academies has released the Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy, an independent report designed to try to turn around the fortunes of poorly performing schools in the north.

Suggestions in the report are the formation of a Government funded “Teach North” programme to attract more teachers to disadvantaged Northern schools, encouraging small academy chains to merge, and to alter school admission policies to create a “more diverse mix of students.”

The report points out that fewer children in the North attend schools that are classed as Good or Outstanding by Ofsted than in the South. According to recent figures, 36 per cent of children in Bradford attend a school that is deemed to either “require improvement” or be inadequate.

That compares to 14 per cent nationally.

It contains 27 suggestions to the Department for Education, councils and academy chains.

Sir Nick, who was chosen by George Osborne to head up the independent review in March, heads up the Bradford based Dixons chain, which includes seven schools in the city.

One of these, Dixons Trinity Academy, was the first secondary free school to get an outstanding Ofsted rating in 2014.

In his report he says: “I was asked to explore why there is a particular concentration of underperformance in the North and to make recommendations to raise educational attainment.

“A dynamic regional economy depends on an excellent education system. Currently, the standard of secondary schooling in the North of England fails to match this ambition.

“As school leaders in the North, we need to do a better job of learning from and replicating success stories locally as well as from elsewhere in the country.”

One of his suggestions is that school admissions policies be changed to make schools in areas like Bradford more diverse with schools with the largest concentrations of single cultures having '"randomised selection from city-wide or whole town catchment".

Sir Nick adds: “ I believe that mono-cultural disadvantage is a particular problem in the North, whether this is white working class children in former mining towns or Pakistani students in former mill towns, for example. In both cases, the progress and attainment of boys in these areas is a particular problem.”

The Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy will receive £20 million a year from the Government.

Sir Nick told the Telegraph & Argus: “The issues facing the North that are presented in this report are true of Bradford and its schools.

“Challenges schools face in Bradford are very typical of the challenges faced in the rest of the North of England.

“There is a large gap between the achievements of disadvantaged students and other students and it can be difficult to recruit and retain teachers in some subjects.

“There are encouraging signs, with new multi academy trusts both from outside Bradford, like the Wakefield City Academy Trust and the Tauheedul Educational Trust, and inside the district, like Dixons, Beckfoot, Feversham and the Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust.”

Bradford Council leader Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe said: “There are a series of detailed recommendations which we are studying but what stands out is the call for more focus to be given to raise school standards in the North.

“Improving the school results and job prospects of young people in Bradford is a top priority for our district and we believe Bradford, the youngest city in the UK, should be at the heart of a drive to raise standards in Northern schools.”

Councillor Debbie Davies, Conservative group education spokesman, said: “I don’t really agree with the idea of a North/South divide, but a lot of what he says makes sense. Whether it it can be put into action is another thing.

“Getting more good teachers to the area is crucial.”

A Government spokesman said: “We welcome Sir Nick Weller’s independent report which identifies the need to increase the supply of high-quality teachers and senior leaders in the North, the limited capacity of multi-academy trusts (MATs), and the need for more schools to offer a stretching curriculum.

“We will consider the specific recommendations in the report further, but we particularly welcome Sir Nick’s proposals on attracting and retaining high quality teachers.

"The quality of teaching and teachers is the single most important factor influencing how well pupils achieve in schools.”

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