Education leaders are heading for a showdown with a private contractor over the running of city schools.

Brighton and Hove City Council wants to meet Andrew Sutton, chief executive of Jarvis Accommodation Services, to discuss issues with the company's contract.

It follows months of complaints over the firm's work at four schools in the city under the controversial £105 million private finance initiative (PFI).

David Hawker, the council's director of children, families and schools, said there were a number of issues which had not been resolved through its monthly meetings with Jarvis and the council had decided to take the matter to a higher level.

Mr Hawker said: "There are a list of problems which we need to resolve in terms of outstanding follow-up work to building work and issues starting to arise from the facilities management part of the contract.

"Generally speaking, relations (with Jarvis) are good. We would probably encounter criticism with any big contractor."

Mr Hawker said representatives of all schools involved in the PFI project in Brighton and Hove would be involved in the meeting, which he hoped would take place by the end of February.

Schools councillor Pat Hawkes said: "A letter has been sent to Mr Sutton inviting him to a meeting on our outstanding issues."

The letter is the first time the council has acknowledged there are problems with the performance of the company, whose engineering arm is at the centre of the Potters Bar rail crash inquiry.

Jarvis was handed a 25-year-contract two years ago giving it responsibility for upgrading and maintaining Comart, Varndean, Dorothy Stringer and Patcham High School.

Since then there have been a string of problems, including:

Work at Varndean, Comart and Patcham High School dragged on for so long over the summer holidays of 2002, the schools had to delay opening for the autumn term.

When the Jarvis wing, featuring new technology and drama rooms, opened at Varndean, most of the rooms had no equipment.

In August, Jarvis claimed to have fitted a new roof to Varndean's swimming pool. Headteacher Andy Schofield was amazed as Varndean had no pool.

Dr Jill Clough said her rocky relationship with Jarvis put an added strain on her period as Comart's headteacher.

Public criticism of Jarvis reached fresh levels last month after councillors announced plans to close Comart.

The council's Green Party has also accused the council of plotting to sell land at the troubled college to pay off Jarvis.

A Jarvis spokeswoman said yesterday the company had not received the letter from Mr Hawker.

She said: "If the council has requested a meeting with Andrew Sutton, we will agree to it."