A MILLIONAIRE has promised an annual £50,000 prize for the Manchester high school where pupils make the most progress between the ages of 14 and 16.

Manchester-born investment banker Jim O'Neill, head of global economic research at Goldman Sachs, hopes it will help the city-wide drive to improve exam results and academic attainment, ultimately increasing the number of pupils who go on to further and higher education.

The offer has astonished and delighted headteachers who are facing a financial crisis. They say it sends out a strong message that teachers and young people are worth the massive investment.

Manchester's chief education officer, Mick Waters, said: "Our schools are committed to raising standards and this reward will be a suitable recognition for those that make a difference - it may even spur on schools to try that bit harder.

"Giving a school £50,000 is a generous bonus, especially as it can be used so it makes most sense to each particular school."

Incentives

Mr O'Neill, a former pupil at Crossacres Primary and Burnage High, says financial incentives are routine in the financial industry to motivate staff and it should have the same effect in schools.

Initially he had looked at ways headteachers could have benefited personally from the money. But it was in response to Manchester headteachers that the prize was directed towards schools rather than individuals.

He will provide the £50,000 for three years. It will continue after that if it is making a difference. He said:: "I don't have any view about what it should be spent on.''

Mr O'Neill acted because he has fond memories of his schooldays, concerns about poor exam results and the low number of young people choosing further and higher education.

After launching the award scheme he revisited Burnage High School, where he admits his strongest memories are of victories on the football pitch rather than in the classroom.

As a teenager, when he played for Manchester schoolboys, he dreamed about his trial for Manchester United. And he still treasures the under-13s Manchester Schools Trophy in his London home.

Motivated

"At that time my life was all about playing football," he said. "All I was motivated by was getting on to United's books."

He turned to football at primary school when playground bullies were making his life a misery.

His mother was a nurse and his father a postman. He was seen as "posh" by his classmates because he lived in Gatley. And only by proving his prowess on the football pitch did he silence the bullies.

He said: "I often used to hide until a certain number of people had disappeared so they wouldn't beat me up on the way home - purely because I was from Gatley. I used to be scared."

Welcoming the award scheme, Ian Fenn, the headteacher at Burnage High, said: "Anything that recognises school improvement is to be welcomed and if someone or a charity is coming in to stimulate that recognition that is also good. £50,000 is a substantial amount and has met widespread approval.

"I think headteachers in Manchester are pleased that people are trying to recognise the special nature of education in Manchester and that we are trying to address the intensely urban agenda. People in Manchester are worth investing in."

The donation comes four years after Mr O'Neill and colleagues in the financial services industry set up the charity Shine - Support and Help In Education - which focuses on disadvantaged children.

Donations

Following the death of his mother he made five-figure donations to the Christie Hospital to refurbish part of a leukaemia unit.

He has since part-funded leukaemia research at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Des Coffey, director of Manchester's Excellence in Cities initiative, said: "I think this award scheme for schools is vitally important.

From the school's perspective it's not simply a case of simply financial rewards but it's an additional incentive too.

"On the one hand I think this recognises the fact that he got a lot out of his education in Manchester and on the other hand it's recognition of his commitment to help in whatever way he can.''

The winner of the first award will be announced in the autumn after GCSE results have been checked and finalised.

It will be determined by a panel of volunteers comprising Jim O'Neill, Mr Waters, Mr Coffey and MEN education reporter Deborah Haile.