GCSE performance tables published this month showed results at Manchester schools were improving faster than the national average.

But for many parents the bottom line was that the city still ranked 145th out of 150 council areas up and down the country - with only 47.4 per cent of students reaching the government's target of five good GCSE grades.

The truancy rate in the city's secondary schools remains the worst in the country, with an average 2.9 per cent of classroom time being missed. The national average is 1.3 per cent.

The city also has the second-worst authorised absence rate, where pupils miss classes through sickness or for other reasons.

That is why the post of chief education officer at Manchester Council - the person in day-to-day control of the schooling of 68,000 children - could be seen as something of a daunting prospect.

The last long-term holder of the post was the charismatic Mick Waters (November 2002-June 2005), who gained national recognition for controversial reforms that included lottery-type prizes for kids who simply turned up to school.

When Mr Waters left to take up a role with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein said he had been `instrumental in driving forward a radical debate about the future of education'.

'Major changes'

"We now are on the brink of major changes," he said. "We have already begun the search to find the person who will build on Mick's achievements and ensure that school attainment and improvement remains one of our highest priorities."

In the seven months that followed adverts in the national press and specialist headhunters failed to turn up a suitable full-time candidate.

Barbara Comiskey took on the job on an interim basis between June and October 2005. She was followed by Julien Kramer between November 2005 and March 2006, before Dr Irving was appointed in March last year.

The father-of-one - a teacher for 16 years - had worked his way up to become young people's director in the Merseyside borough of Sefton. While lacking Mr Waters' high-profile and taste for risk-taking, he was seen as a strategist whose hands-on experience would provide a vital bridge to headteachers across the city.

In his first interview, he pledged to work with parents to drive up results. In the end his recent ill-health has meant he has barely had the chance. Among his successes he could point to the improved GCSE results - which he described as the `best ever' - and a 100-day truancy sweep, which showed a record number of pupils achieving 100 per cent attendance.

But other cities have achieved faster improvements, with Salford seeing 51 per cent of GCSE pupils achieving the benchmark result compared with 38 per cent in 2004.

Uncertainty over Dr Irving's position has led representatives of Manchester's headteachers to criticise what they see as the lack of management in the city council, and to call for clearer direction on cutting truancy and raising attainment.

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