IWAS associated with Belthorn Primary School for even longer than Coun Sheelagh Delaney and Coun Bill Goldsmith, whose resignation as governors you reported (LET, March 15).

Since 1970, it has always been a good school, steadily improving and expanding, of which the village can be proud.

In a strange way, one must admire the two councillors for sticking to their Labour Party dogmatic principles on opt-outs, however misguided these may be.

But Belthorn is a school which does not need authoritarian guidance - or on occasions, authoritarian interference.

I am sure that future years will show that the school can go from strength to strength as a grant-maintained school.

COUN PETER EVANS, (Hyndburn District Education Officer, 1970-89), Knowsley Road, Wilpshire, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.