YORK parents who formed a support group after claiming they had lost faith in the way Huntington School was run are to meet City of York Council's director of education.

The group, called Parents For Pupils, will have a face-to-face meeting with Patrick Scott later this month.

They say they want to ask him about a number of issues they are not happy with, including the school's bullying policy and the way the school tackles behavioural problems.

Cath Lee and Chris Fleming set up the group in February, after they claimed their children had bad experiences at Huntington School.

They criticised the ethos of the school and said it did not help children who were underachievers.

Head teacher, Chris Bridge, categorically denied the claims saying the children concerned had to be dealt with for bad behaviour.

He said the school was proud of its ethos as it offered a wide range of activities both in and outside the classroom.

Members of the group handed out flyers to children at the school and now hold regular meetings with the aim of helping other parents in their situation. In March Mr Bridge organised a meeting in school to allow parents to discuss their concerns, but Chris Fleming said it had failed to address his concerns.

But Mr Bridge disagreed and said the two-hour meeting had been attended by about 50 parents and had been a valuable conversation.

Following the meeting Cath and Chris wrote to Mr Scott asking for a meeting to discuss their concerns.

Cath, from Strensall, had been unable to attend the meeting at the school as her 15-year-old son Joshua is no longer a pupil.

They will meet Mr Scott on April 28, and have also requested a meeting with school governors.

Cath said: "We are not looking to resolve our personal cases, but we do want to speak for other people."

Updated: 10:37 Friday, April 16, 2004