TWO Manchester primary schools had among the biggest bank balances in the country, according to government figures.

St Kentigern's RC, in Fallowfield, had a whopping £261,803 sitting in reserves, according to newly-released figures for 1999/2000 - putting them fourth in the country.

And Harpur Mount primary, in Harpurhey, was 10th with £219,891.

Many schools end the year with only a few thousand pounds.

Banks with high reserves have been criticised by the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), which says schools should be spending, not sitting on, their surplus cash.

They say money in bank balances in schools across the country - totalling £740m - could be paying for extra teachers and boosting wages.

A spokesman for the NASUWT said: ''It is appalling that schools can sit on thousands of pounds, when some areas desperately need more money.

''This money has come from taxpayers' pockets to pay for a high quality education service.''

St Kentigern's headteacher Paul Jackson defended the bumper bank balance and said: ''Money is not kept there for the sake of keeping.''

Cash earmarked

He said the figures released were misleading, because they did not take into account money already earmarked for projects.

The school has already spent £100,000 of the 1999/2000 budget on a state-of-the-art resource centre. Other ''surplus money'' was being kept aside for classroom improvements, said Mr Jackson.

''The money now left, about £150,000, is a planned surplus to meet the cost of a building programme and salaries,'' he said.

''We anticipate the building programme will cost between £75,000 and £150,000 so that gives you a more realistic idea of our finances.

''We are a large primary, akin to a small secondary school. We have the money for sound reasons - it's for the benefit of our children.''

St Kentigern's has 540 pupils with 23 teachers. This year's Ofsted report praised the school for its ''very good value for money''.

More than 50 per cent of pupils at the school qualify for free school meals - a figure which is well above the national average.

A spokesman for 485-pupil Harpur Mount primary, in Alfred Street, which employs 60 people, said: ''This £219,891 is not a surplus as such, but an accumulated sum earmarked for spending.

Investment

''The school has gone into partnership with the LEA to develop a new nursery building, complete with play area, improved access and a parent/community room. It is much-needed investment.

''We are one of the largest primaries in Manchester and, therefore, has one of the largest budgets.''

All schools have to tell the Department for Education how much money has not been spent from that year's budget. There is no legislation to make schools spend any surplus money, nor for local education authorities to take it back.

It is estimated that burgeoning school coffers could top £1bn in less than two years' time.

''We want to encourage schools to spend fairly or be honest and say we don't need the money,'' said the NASUWT spokesman. ''We don't want to end up in a position where the government says they are giving out too much money for education.''

Two secondary schools were the only other Greater Manchester schools to feature in the top 230 bank balances - Wellington School in Timperley, with £369,783, and Urmston Grammar, with £231,829.