EDUCATION bosses and teachers in Bolton are to work together to eliminate "weak teaching" from the town's schools.

The move is a recommendation of the Local Education Authority's Annual Report on Standards and Quality in Bolton's Schools, which concluded that standards in primary schools are higher than those in secondary schools.

The purpose of the report was to provide a comprehensive picture of standards and quality in schools.

But the LEA said the findings may not be representative because only 14 primary and two secondary schools had been surveyed.

Inspections which took place during the 2000/2001 academic year concluded: "Bolton's primary schools continued to be generally well led, with leadership and management being described as at least satisfactory in all."

But the inspection identified examples of weak and even poor practice following the secondary school inspections, although it concluded that 70 per cent of schools provide "good value for money with good financial planning".

Bolton LEA has recommended that secondary schools should work with them to develop strategies to ensure that GCSE results are in line with national levels of improvement.

The report gives the commitment to "strive to remedy weak teaching, particularly where low expectations were the root cause of the weakness".