IN response to Director of Education Mark Pattison's remarks (Letters, April 22), I must support the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's coverage of the plight of parents in Blackburn with Darwen and Ribble Valley, whose children have been denied a place at their first preference school.

Mr Pattison states that the facts regarding this situation could easily have been ascertained by your newspaper.

Well, this is a surprise, as Mr Pattison himself does not know what the true facts are.

As parents, we have written to and also attended a meeting with representatives of the education department.

In three letters and one conversation we have been given three different figures relating to the number of children who have applied for a place at Pleckgate High School.

The letters sent by Mr Pattison even conflict with the article written by him.

He states that the criteria used to allocate places this year is no different from before. This, I cannot understand, as in my child's school alone, the number of appeals to get into Pleckgate this year will be more than 20 times greater than the previous two years combined, and is a situation which is repeated in other schools. The one major change, however, is that this is the first year that the Blackburn with Darwen unitary authority has implemented the criteria.

Clearly, something has changed.

I would suggest that, before Mr Pattison levels any criticism at the Evening Telegraph or others, he avails himself of the true facts and makes these available to parents who are trying to establish what is happening and stop playing this game of subterfuge by presenting mis-information.

Does he have any idea what effect this farce is having on our children?

Instead of concentrating on their standard assessment tests, they are worrying about which school they are going to attend and which friends they are going to lose.

Finally, I would like to commend Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans for standing up for his constituents in this matter.

It is an example that our own MP would do well to follow.

ANDREW CAIRNS, Rhodes Avenue, Blackburn.

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