A ROW over Blackpool schools' GCSE results was expected to come to a head at Blackpool Town Hall.

Cabinet member for education at Blackpool Borough Council, Eddie Collett, was expected to face a grilling from Tory councillors about why the town's GCSE results lagged behind the national average.

The Government's new exam results tables released last week showed that 35 per cent of pupils in Blackpool gained five or more GCSEs grade A-C. By comparison the national average for GCSEs grade A-C is 50 per cent.

Blackpool's figure also showed a one per cent drop from last year in the numbers of pupils passing with five or more good grades.

Councillors Peter and Maxine Callow put forward critical questions to be asked of Coun Collet at last night's full council meeting about how the downward trend would be reversed and whether under-funding was to blame.

Coun Henry Mitchell also wanted to know why the issue had not appeared on the agenda of a recent council meeting as he had expected.

Coun Callow said: "It's only when you set these final results against the yardstick of other schools that you realise that we have performed badly in Blackpool.

"What we are trying to find out is where did it all go wrong and what action if any is being taken to turn this around to stop this slide. I am looking for some reassurance from Coun Collett that this isn't something that will be repeated next year."

Speaking before last night's meeting Coun Collett said he would be answering the questions "in the spirit of openness".

Referring to school funding he said: "It hasn't had a direct result on comparisons in GCSE between us and neighbouring authorities. Funding of a typical high school in Blackpool matches and is even slightly ahead of schools in Fylde and Wyre."

The reasons behind the results were "complicated" he said. "All of the factors that would nationally depress GCSE results exist in Blackpool, except ethnicity. We have got economic deprivation by the seaside and we have got transience in the population."

Turning GCSE results around was already on the agenda as part of the council's excellence in cities action plan, he added.

GCSE passes in Blackpool at grades A-G stood at 85.7 per cent -- slightly less than three per cent behind the national average but still worse than the Lancashire average of just over 91 per cent. Blackpool now ranks 129th out of 149 authorities.

Across Lancashire 51 per cent of pupils obtained five GCSEs -- beating the national average of 50 per cent by a whisker.

In the local area, Baines School, Highcross Road, Poulton held on to its first place in the GCSE exam results table with 68 per cent of takers gaining five or more subjects at grades A-C. St Mary's High, St Walburga's Road, Blackpool enjoyed a five per cent rise in the number of pupils gaining five or more top grade GCSEs.

Meanwhile, an eight per cent drop in students gaining five good GCSEs was recorded at language college Montgomery High and Arts college Bispham High, both in Bispham. Dr David Sanders, Blackpool's education director was said to have been "disappointed" by the specialist schools' results.