I WISH to respond to claims made by Chris Wellburn about the future of Oaklands and Lowfield schools ("Parent angered by schools move", November 20).

Mr Wellburn suggests parents should have been informed as soon as possible that the future of the school was uncertain. This is exactly what we have done.

The council continually monitors the situation and, earlier this year, it became clear that falling pupil numbers and a falling birth rate posed a serious long-term problem for the provision of schooling on the west side of the city.

We are now conducting a wide-ranging consultation on the various options available.

The Oaklands/Lowfield merger is far from a "done deal" as Mr Wellburn appears to suggest and it will be some months until a decision is reached. We are inviting as many responses as possible to find a way forward.

It is understandable that parents of children attending these schools have concerns about their future. However, the council is acutely aware of this and has done all it can to ensure honesty and transparency are at the forefront of the decision-making process.

Coun Carol Runciman,

Executive member for education,

City of York Council,

Spurr House,

Plainville Lane,

Wigginton, York.

...I MUST correct some of the details contained in the article by Rosemary Curtis ("Teachers fear for their jobs", November 17) about the current consultation on the provision of secondary school places in the west side of the city.

The hours of the school day at Lowfield and Oaklands Schools were not set to address any issues relating to the potential for conflict between the students of the two schools.

Both schools open for pupils at 8:30 am and subsequent differences are due to the differing lengths of the morning break and lunchtime. At Lowfield these were determined by the time needed to provide services such as school meals with the canteen facility available in the school and educational priorities relating to the provision of extra curricular activities.

You correctly reported, after the recent public meeting at Lowfield School, that I am proud of the work my staff are doing and heartened by the positive views of parents at that meeting. I am also proud of the good relationships that Lowfield staff and pupils enjoy with their counterparts in other city schools, including Oaklands.

John Thompson

Headteacher,

Lowfield School,

Acomb,

York.

Updated: 10:15 Thursday, November 27, 2003