Education reporter CHRIS HEWITT goes back to school and finds out that old methods are best.

Calculators are out and times tables are back in as schools return to the tried and test, good old-fashioned methods of teaching simple arithmetic to children.

And Bradford is ringing in the changes as one of 12 areas of the country leading the way to make maths lessons fun and pupils top of the class at number-crunching.

Labour has announced it is freeing up the timetable for children up to age 11 so teachers can spend an hour a day on maths, as well as a further hour in reading and writing.

It is also setting tough targets for schools to achieve by 2002 and Bradford has some work to do.

The Telegraph & Argus reported that only half the 11-year-olds in Bradford were reaching the expected standard in maths. By 2002, Labour wants to see that figure rise to 75 per cent.

The gauntlet has been thrown down but the challenge has been grasped with relish by teachers.

Trendy classroom practices in which teachers had to juggle 10 balls in the air at once will be squeezed out in favour of more direct and concentrated methods. For instance, many schools operate "menu" systems where classes are split into groups and set tasks in different subjects all at the same time.

But the whole approach is changing so that the teacher teaches the entire class in just one subject at a time before breaking up children into smaller groups where they can work more independently on tasks that meet their needs.

The National Numeracy Project encapsulates this new direction in teaching. Bradford is just one of 12 authorities that runs the scheme and 40 schools have signed up to it voluntarily.

Allerton First and Allerton Middle Schools are among them and they are transforming their pupils into human abacuses at a tremendous pace.

Susan Holmes, the maths co-ordinator at Allerton First, which joined the numeracy project last September, said: "Children are much more confident in answering questions and explaining their strategies in the classroom.

"The fun side of maths has improved amazingly. Children just love the first 15 minutes with the quick-fire question and answer session. This has certainly improved the speed of children."

She also described the project's framework for maths lessons as a "Godsend", giving her a much clearer step-by-step guide for the curriculum.

Lessons have radically changed. They begin with 15 minutes of brisk interaction between the teacher and the class which combines an element of fun with quick mental arithmetic - the basis of which are times tables.

Children are expected to know off pat what eight sevens are, but they learn using picture cards and counting sticks rather than by rote. And they are encouraged to work out their sums in their heads and explain their calculations to the rest of the class rather than writing them down in a book.

Paul Grundy, head at Allerton Middle, said he expected the maths results for 11-year-olds to significantly improve as a result of the project. Last year, 38 per cent of his pupils gained the expected national standard in maths. "It will be a tall order to reach the 75 per cent target by 2002 but I think we can do it," he said. "Teachers are also gaining confidence in working with whole groups of children."

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