Some 162 pupils at the academy will benefit from the scheme

Bristol's City Academy will hand the cash over to 162 pupils under the controversial Achievement and Incentives scheme.

This awards money to students who meet or surpass their "target" grades.

The average student at the inner-city school will receive about �150 for their diligence, while one student will get �360.

Expected mark

An extra �6,000 is to be paid to 24 A-level students who are to go on to university, in the form of �250 bursaries.

Pupils at the school, which opened in 2003, get �10 for reaching each predicted grade and �5 extra for each grade surpassing their expected mark.

The cash is paid regardless of the level of the grade, so pupils predicted a G grade would still get the "bonus" if they achieved that mark.

Additionally, any pupil getting five grade Cs or more receives a lump sum of �100, which is paid directly into his or her bank account.

Ray Priest, headmaster of the 1,300-pupil school, said: "The results are almost the same as last year and it demonstrates that there is real sustained improvement.

"There's always a risk that you do well one year and then it dips the year after, this shows we're on the right track."

The performance-related pay scheme, which is funded under the government regeneration project New Deal for Communities, has paid out about �90,000 since it started in 2002.