School places (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

School places

11:30am Friday 27th June 2008

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Sir, - I recently attended a meeting of Ingleby Barwick Town Council, where Stockton council's Building Schools for the Future programme was discussed.

There was unanimous dismay at the failure to provide sufficient new school places for Ingleby Barwick's children.

The problem is not just the impression that Stockton council is ignoring local people, but that a greater force is interfering with the future of our schools.

Stockton council has apparently taken the view that it cannot offer anything more than to expand All Saints' School by 300 places, because the Government will not allow it.

The restrictions placed on the way funding must be applied mean that civil servants in London are hiding behind rigid and unsuitable rules which would leave hundreds of our children unable to attend a local school.

Along with the town council and local IBIS councillors, I will continue to campaign for a new school. We must not allow the Government's obsession with central control to ruin this opportunity to make real progress in education for South Stockton.

JAMES WHARTON Conservative parliamentary candidate for Stockton South

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