A WAR of words has broken out after Ukip accused Bradford education chiefs of presiding over an increasingly poor education system for vulnerable youngsters.

Jason Smith, the party's Bradford and District chairman, claims results for the worst-performing students in the Bradford district have fallen fast in the last year.

He claims the gap between the least able pupils and other students has widened by 64 per cent since last year.

The Valued Added figures for Key Stage Four disadvantaged pupils has gone from 988.8 in 2013 to 963.5 last year. This is compared to 1009.9 for other pupils in 2013 and 998.3 last year, he said.

Value Added measures the progress students make between different stages of their education of similar schools and local authorities with similar intakes of children.

The figures obtained by Ukip through a Freedom of Information request from Bradford Council are for Key Stage Four pupils, aged 14 to 16.

Mr Smith said: "It's a worrying trend. We are failing the most vulnerable children.

"Bradford Council will claim this is due to the changes in curriculum put in place by former Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove, however, other schools and other authorities haven't seen such huge increases.

"The reality is that Bradford's education strategy is unfit for purpose.

"Once again our Labour Council have let down the neediest children as Bradford now is increasingly becoming a third world education system."

Councillor Ralph Berry, the executive member for children and young people’s services on Labour-run Bradford Council, said: "It's a typically inflammatory comment.

"We always need to be doing more. These issues are being dealt with but the answer is not grammar schools. In these types of schools, working class pupils generally do worse.

"Schools who are doing well need to be doing more for schools that are not on this issue. Every school should be sharing out what they are good at."

Councillor Debbie Davies, the Conservative group's spokesman for children's services, said: "I don't think labelling children disadvantaged or not helps them.

"I want standards to improve overall. We need to get the potential out of every child and to get the best out of every school.

"I don't think Bradford has a third world education system."

Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, Liberal Democrats group leader, said: "Since it has become back under the control of Labour, it has become bottom of the league tables.

"There is more money than ever before coming into Bradford schools so money cannot be the excuse.

"It is more of a leadership failure."

Bradford West Respect MP George Galloway said: "It's good that Ukip has got on the case with something that I have been talking about for the last three years.

"It must be a first that I agree with something Ukip has said."

Bradford district slumped to joint second bottom place of the GCSE performance league tables, which were published last month.

The percentage of Bradford district pupils passing at least five A*-C GCSEs, including English and maths, fell from 53 per cent

in 2013 to 44 per cent in last summer’s exams.