THE battle to save village schools rages on with governments past and present ignoring the declaration to "keep open village schools", not to mention the latest comments from the new Secretary of State for Education to boost support with more money for such schools.

The real position is that local politicians with vested interested can close our village schools at will. They are allowed to set up Schools Organisation Committees (SOCs), made up of mainly suburban types, who are well instructed in the art of "rubber stamping" proposals put to them by the local authority.

To date, such committees have closed hundreds of rural schools which have no right of appeal. They can apply for a Judicial Review; indeed, some have but have found the attitude of judges in London to be hostile to their case. It is very clear that the courts have no intention of interfering in either national or local politics.

My very strong advice to all schools is this: you will only obtain justice by appealing directly to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which will not be concerned with politics or vested interests, but rather whether the UK has breached the convention's articles. Note that Britain has been found guilty of breaches more often than any other member state since 1955.

Any individual can submit, without cost, an application to the European Court. In my view, many schools have had their fundamental rights breached.

My second piece of advice to people involved in these school closures is that in the May local elections you should use your vote for your schools and your children's figure.

ROBERT M. GOODMAN