The future of Bradford rests with its young. What happens to them as they go through their school careers will decide the sort of district this becomes. Therefore it is absolutely vital that those charged with the task of providing education in Bradford get it right.

Professor David Hopkins, head of the Standards and Effectiveness Unit at the Department of Education and Skills, is correct when he says that combating under-achievement in local classrooms is a challenge which has a strong moral aspect to it.

It is clearly very wrong that so many pupils appear in recent years to have been failing to achieve their potential. It is the job of Education Bradford to right that wrong.

Those at the official launch of the privatised education authority yesterday were saying all the right things. Its managing director, Mark Pattison, sees the "moral purpose" as being "to create a more cohesive community in Bradford", and surely no-one would argue with that.

Councillor David Ward, the Council's executive member for education, stressed the need for all those concerned to work together and not to turn on each other if things get difficult. He was referring mainly to head teachers and Education Bradford, but the same appeal could equally be made to parents and to the pupils themselves.

It is for the benefit of the Bradfordians of tomorrow and their families that all this upheaval in the local schools system is taking place. It is up to everyone now to pull in the same direction to make it work and show the wider world just what this city is capable of.