AFTER successive years of upset and anger over scores of Year 6 children in the Ribble Valley not being allocated a place at their "local" secondary school, an eventual end to the mess was envisaged when the county council came up with a proposal for a new school.

But have they really got a plan -- or is it just their notion that one is needed?

Certainly, when the the new school scheme was revealed almost a year ago -- involving the possible relocation of Bowland High School to a more central location -- the need was as evident as it is now because of the annual scramble that has gone on since 1996 over secondary school places.

It may be that squeeze at Ribblesdale High, Bowland High and Clitheroe Royal Grammar is aggravated by the housing boom in their intake areas but, surely, if the problem has gone on so long already and stands to keep on growing, then putting an end to it should no longer be a matter of conjecture. After all, this is not just a question of inconvenience for the children who are losers in the places lottery and face travel to schools many miles away, nor one of frustration for their parents pitched into appeals battles.

It is harmful to education when youngsters are split from the friends they used to go to school with. It is also less safe for them to undergo long daily journeys. And if, as happened, somehow they are eventually squeezed into their local school, swollen class sizes threaten the quality of teaching.

So what goes on? We now have councillors claiming they have been told by County Hall that there isn't a firm plan for a new school and that the scheme is dependent on a site being found.

But why is there is this confusion and foot-dragging? The need for a new school is evident. Even the county acknowledges it. They must now firmly commit themselves to building a secondary school -- and providing more primary places if there is an increasing needed for them too.