CONSERVATIVES on South Gloucestershire Council have unveiled plans to spend more than half a million pounds a year on driving up standards in secondary schools across the district.

Under proposals by the Tory minority administration that runs the council, £110,000 will be spent making up for the government ending a major grant.

But the bulk of the £560,000 investment will go on a "personalisation" project in school departments where students are not making the progress expected.

Backers of the plan say focusing on subject-specific development at Key Stage 4 will improve standards at GCSE in the short term. The second element is more long term and involves whole school systemic change in its approach to personalisation initially at Key Stage 3, similar to that being implemented by the John Cabot Academy - ranked by Ofsted as an outstanding school.

It is expected that the combination of these two components will give rise to a sustainable step change in the performance of secondary schools.

Cllr Sheila Cook, cabinet member for children and young people, said it was a way of supporting and improving excellent work already carried out in secondary schools.

"Our new proposal will see highly targeted work undertaken to support schools in driving up standards in key subjects and working with individual students who are not performing as well as they could," she said.

"This will be followed up with more work with schools to promote a personalised approach to learning, similar to that being undertaken by the highly regarded John Cabot Academy."

Cllr Cook said the dividend would be improved learning and improved results, giving young people the best start in life.

"We are strongly focused on achievement and are not content to simply maintain our current performance.

"South Gloucestershire has always had a good reputation for education and we aim to make it even better," she said.

The council will debate the Conservatives' proposals next month as part of the budget.