We must have high expectations for all pupils - no matter what their background

School Standards Minister, Estelle Morris

Figures released by ministers suggest that the mentors are helping to change inner city pupils' attitudes to schooling.

The annual budget is to be raised to �100m in 2003/04 to fund more than 3,000 mentors - an average cost of about �33,000.

There will be some 1,500 by Easter in secondary schools in the government's designated "Excellence in Cities" areas, with 900 being recruited in primary schools this year.

Beating bullying

Learning mentors are paid to help pupils to overcome barriers to learning such as difficulties at home, truancy, bullying, poor organisational skills, lack of confidence and disaffection.

Schools and local education authorities recruit them and decide their pay and conditions.

They get local training on top of a five-day national course.

The School Standards Minister, Estelle Morris, said learning mentors could "catch pupils before they are lost to learning".

"They can transform young people's attitudes towards school, their study skills, their ability to cope with the challenges that they face, and ultimately their ability to achieve their true potential.

"We know from head teachers how important learning mentors are and that is why we are investing to boost their numbers.

'Teachers freed to teach'

"Learning mentors are now a crucial part of the team in many schools.

"They work with pupils, their families and external agencies, freeing up teachers to concentrate on the classroom and teach the whole class."

The annual Excellence in Cities report shows that exam results in the areas involved rose by 2.3 percentage points, compared with 1.3 in other parts of the country.

It says the biggest jump in standards was in the most deprived schools.

The numbers of pupils leaving school with no qualifications fell twice as fast as elsewhere.

High expectations

Estelle Morris said: "The Excellence in Cities programme is already beginning to reform secondary schools in some of our most challenging urban areas.

"Standards are rising and rising faster in the very most deprived areas.

"This success reinforces my strong belief that we must have high expectations for all pupils - no matter what their background."

The scheme has caused some resentment, however, with schools outside the "excellence" areas saying they could also perform wonders, given similar extra funding.

Ministers are aware that social deprivation is not solely an urban phenomenon.