BY any standards, the achievement of schoolchildren in the Ilkley Pyramid is a glowing testimony to the hard work and dedication of pupils, staff, parents and governors.

Consistenly high standards are maintained and Ofsted reports brimming with praise are the norm, not the exception.

Sadly for the rest of the district, this is not the case. Bradford languishes deep in the relegation zone of all the national league tables produced by Government inspectors.

Education bosses can be applauded for trying to reverse this trend and give Bradford parents schools of which they can be proud, not ashamed.

But the way they have chosen to carry out this improvement has not convinced those who will be affected the most.

The education authority is convinced standards will rise by a change from a three-tier system from a two tier.

This is despite the claim of middle school heads that they have not produced a convincing argument to show how such massive disruption will bring the desired effect.

Others have gone further, condemning the schools review as a cost-cutting exercise which ignores the real problems facing inner-city schools.

Whichever position is taken, there can be no disputing the obvious fact that in the Ilkley area, the massive upheaval is not a positive step - it is nothing but a sacrifice made by all to improve the chances of youngsters elsewhere.

The best that can be hoped is that pupils will not be too badly upset by the reorganisation, and their consistently high standards will remain more or less unaffected.

However, if Bradford education bosses wish to cling on to any credibility whatsoever, their grandiose plans should be seen to be producing results within a short time.

If the effect five years down the line is still crumbling schools, low exam success and a major shift of wasted resources to the inner city, few in Ilkley will ever forgive them.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.