A huge shake up of special schools in Bradford was approved last night at an emotional meeting at City Hall.

The proposals to close the ten specialist schools in Bradford and replace them with six new schools were approved subject to planning permission.

Three special primary schools and three special secondary schools will be built alongside mainstream schools, with both sharing facilities.

During the meeting, delegates heard parents and teachers make impassioned pleas against the proposals.

Parents argued that building special schools on mainstream sites would be detrimental to their child's education, or could put their child at risk of bullying, while others feared children with more minor learning difficulties would fall behind under the new system.

Bradford Council's director of education Phil Green said: "This is a quality operation to shape the future of specialist education in Bradford, the effects of which will last for the next 20 years."

However, Bill Cameron, governor at Haycliffe Special School, told the meeting: "You cannot have one pupil who has hospital-level needs being taught in the same institution as someone who has autism or other difficulties. Under these proposals there is a danger many pupils will disappear off the radar."

During a break in the four hour debate, Andrew Robertshaw, who has a 16-year-old son at Haycliffe special school, commented: "Would it not be a much better idea to spend money on improving facilities at the existing schools and building other smaller units?"

The proposal for the shake-up came from Council education bosses after ten years of attempts to review specialist schools provision in Bradford. The new schools will become Centres for Excellence for special educational needs.

Education bosses decided to build new schools after surveys showed current special schools were unsuitable for redevelopment.

They say the six new sites are being placed to take into account the spread of current and predicted school populations.

The primary schools will be built at the Guard House, Keighley, Heaton Primary and in the area of Bradford Moor and La Page Primary schools. The secondaries will be built at Green Hill, Keighley, Beckfoot Secondary and the Grange Secondary.

Funding has been secured and planning applications will be submitted in 2006.