Big business in Bradford has called for middle schools to be scrapped in favour of an education system better equipped to produce highly-skilled school-leavers for the industrial future.

And Bradford Breakthrough has also called on education chiefs to immediately set targets for improvements in all areas of the curriculum for the next five years.

Formed in 1990, Bradford Breakthrough, represents some of Bradford's biggest employers.

Chief executive Charles Forgan said: "We have always taken an interest in education but increasingly so as we realised how much money was being spent by businesses in educating and training their workforce - skills they felt should have been taught in schools.

"They are the ones who will need the brains, technologies and skills to take us forward - and to achieve that we need a real change in the educational culture of Bradford."

The education authority is now considering one of two options put forward in an interim report - to slim down the present system of first, middle and upper schools or change to a two-tier system of primary and secondary schools. Bradford Breakthrough said that on the evidence of the interim report, Bradford should adopt the two-tier system.

Mr Forgan described Bradford's schools as out of step with most of the country and misaligned to the national key stages in education and the established testing and targeting that goes with them.

But he said reorganisation alone would not solve the district's problems - Bradford schools needed to move towards district-wide attainment of the national targets of the key stages of the National Curriculum. The second round of consultation on the review ends on Friday. A final decision will be made on March 24.

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