A thousand children released balloons in Lister Park to mark the start of schools' Excellence in Cities week.

The pupils were at the launch event yesterday with their learning mentors, among the educational innovations made possible by the Excellence in Cities (EiC) programme.

Bradford was in the first wave of EiC cities, set up in 1999.

A week of activities are taking place to celebrate what has been achieved so far, alongside a national awareness week.

Children were entertained by a Bradford Bulls Roadshow featuring mascots Bullman and Bullboy, and a 20-minute show by secondary school students involved in the Arena of Life project.

Excellence in Cities, a flagship Government programme which aims to hike up standards in deprived areas, funnels extra cash to urban areas to help youngsters reach their potential.

The money pays for learning mentors, who work one-to-one with pupils. EiC has also funded City Learning Centres featuring cutting-edge technology, being built on school sites to offer classes to members of the community, and the Gifted and Talented initiative through which more able children can be properly stretched.

In Bradford, Alice Howlett, a learning mentor at Glenaire Primary in Baildon, will unveil a Playground Pals scheme and Daniel Simpson, a learning mentor at Fagley Primary, will hold open house at the school's pupil development centre.