28/06/05

As the British Government has given up on the persecuted people of this beautiful Commonwealth country, there are still many ways of helping the children there who are the future of a democratic Zimbabwe.

Mr Ndlovu's project is targeting the needy direct. This is very different to handing out British taxpayers' money in the form of loans to corrupt governments throughout Africa which use it unashamedly to bolster their dictatorships, and then when the loan is not repaid, our Government writes it off.

The Friends of Zimbabwe Associations (FOZA) will assist Mxolisi wherever possible. Zimbabweans in this area, either refugees or students, are asked to contact (01325) 339803 in order to join the association and help. - B Sargent, Barton.

RICHARD WHITELEY

I AM sad to hear of the death of Countdown host Richard Whiteley (Echo, June 27). He portrayed the true English gent with his witty remarks and dazzling ties.

He will be sorely missed by his legion of fans, and I hope that the bosses of Channel 4 find an adequate replacement for him instead of hiring a dithering chef or a camp presenter who will no doubt find references to his sexuality oddly hilarious.

I think Countdown will never be the same, no matter how many Ps Carol Voderman is asked to deliver by the guests. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

DR ROBIN WADE

I HAVE had great sympathy for Dr Robin Wade while reading your articles (Echo, June 21 and 22). I was particularly impressed with the letter from Yosh Suri, the retired NHS consultant (HAS, June 23). His great support for Dr Wade came through magnificently in his letter and I applaud his words.

I have been a patient of Dr Wade for many years, as have my mother and daughters. He always offered me great sympathy and good medicine and I have always been glad to be his patient. He is one of the best general practitioners I have ever had, and I have lived in many different places so have experienced medical help from many GPs.

Many people have addictions - look at the number of smokers. I think someone should be offered help and support when they unfortunately become addicted.

Should Dr Wade need help, I would be there to offer what I could to him; as he has always given me the help.

Your front page headline "Disgraced doctor escapes jail" seemed a very crude and cruel label for a kind and sympathetic man who unfortunately had lost his way in life for a while.

I hope that The Northern Echo journalists do not have to go through a similar patch. Surely Dr Wade deserves more respect - we are not gods, merely mortal. - Stephanie Wilson, Darlington.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

I AM a student nurse at the University of Teesside. I and other students from Peterlee, Trimdon and neighbouring villages travel on the Arriva 214 service to Middlesbrough - the only service with this direct route.

This service is going to cease and only go as far Stockton. Arriva told me that unless the Government provides more subsidy, village services that run at a loss will be cut.

But I thought the Government wanted people to leave their cars at home and travel by public transport, or does this only apply to the congested areas? Does the Government just ignore the plight of the villages in Tony Blair's backyard? We only have a limited bus service now without making further cuts. - Angela Morris, Trimdon Grange.

I WAS not travelling by train on June 23 when the overhead power lines failed near Peterborough. However, the facts as reported in The Northern Echo are rather disturbing.

It may well be that the power failure, and the subsequent air conditioning failure, were not preventable. However there is something quite seriously wrong when passengers are forced to rebel against the train crew and smash windows in order to reduce the temperature in the carriages - particularly when it soared to 46 Centigrade.

Did the train crew not realise that such temperatures can cause the death of a newborn baby or an infirm person? Whoever smashed the windows in those carriages could have saved somebody's life.

GNER is to hold an internal investigation into what happened. I hope the findings are made public. Why isn't the Health and Safety Executive holding its own investigation? - Jeremy Whiting, Great Lumley, Chester-le-Street.

EUROPE

ONLY a few weeks ago, those who dared to deride the EU were described at best as little Englanders, at worst xenophobic and racist - step forward ultra-federalist Mr Blair, the man who (until last week) loved all things European, wanted the euro, wanted the Constitution and had already agreed an extension to the Common Agriculture Policy.

Now overdosing on fantasy, Mr Blair, the ultimate chameleon, is talking the language of the right, while his agenda is purely left: more integration, more control over our lives, more waste. Like the best stage magician his language is merely a sleight of hand.

Surely, to implement Mr Blair's Third Way on Europe would first require a dose of Thatcherism right across the continent.

Unfortunately, the pro-Europeans (and those pro the North-East Assembly) have had their heads so far in the trough that it covered their ears - the people did not matter, the word NO not in their vocabulary.

Is the left now admitting Thatcher was right all along? - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

ISN'T IT good to hear that the EU is so angry and hostile towards Mr Blair? Here's the man who has such fiercely held opinions and ambitions as far as Europe is concerned, now the others have all turned on him. It's like a gang in the playground cornering their victim and Mr Blair doesn't like it. He's seeing his ambition to be President slipping away as the bullies maul him.

It would be so satisfying if the "gang" decided they'd had enough and booted Britain out of Europe altogether. Mr Blair and some few others would weep tears of humiliation, but the majority of the British people would take to the streets in celebration. - EA Moralee, Billingham.

AFTER eight years of Tony Blair's obfuscation, JL Thompson (HAS, June 22) must be at best politically naive or a true Socialist automaton not to see the need for a clear and unequivocal closure to the EU Constitution Treaty in this country.

Without closure, Mr Blair will seek to resurrect it, wholly or in part, on the premise that the British have in fact not voted no to it in the first place.

It appears obvious that Mr Blair is a committed advocate of the EU agenda. He has left himself a loophole to exploit as and when the occasion to do so arises. The £10m cost of a referendum is a small price to pay to safeguard the country from that. - PJ Elliot-West, Sunderland.

SCHOOL CLOSURE DEBATE

SCHOOL DEBATE: HISTORY, evidence and statistics have not proved that large schools with 1,200-plus pupils perform better in academic achievement than smaller community schools.

Hurworth School may be small and the corridors narrow, but that is not what makes the school achieve excellent exam results - it is the children and teachers.

It is unfair to expect to merge two schools and everyone to come out the other side with the same performance and achievements. It won't work, and teachers who are happy in a smaller school will look elsewhere for teaching posts (as has happened at Haughton's new school).

One of the great strengths of Hurworth School has been the success and support of Hurworth's parents. What will happen to this when the schools are merged?

The location of the new school is also open to question. Why place children next to an industrial estatustrial estate and, in particular, mobile phone masts?

And traffic at the roundabouts on the A66 at Morton Palms is horrendous even on a quiet weekday. How will it cope with the increased volume of buses and cars?

I understand Eastbourne parents' points of view. They are proud of their school and want the best for their children. However, I take offence at the suggestion that Hurworth parents "look down their noses at Eastbourne". This is not the case. We want to keep Hurworth School in Hurworth and as part of our community.

I have lived in Hurworth for nearly 30 years and attended Hurworth primary and comprehensive schools, as did my husband, and it was our wish that our children should attend these schools.

As villagers, we are like King Canute, with the Local Education Authority and Darlington Borough Council acting as the waves. But before we drown, we will be making a very big splash and will hopefully rise to the surface. - Nicola Ventress, Hurworth.

IT DOESN'T make sense to combine Hurworth, one of the best schools in the country for exam results, with Eastbourne - one of the worst.

I couldn't settle at Eastbourne so I failed all nine of my GCSEs. At 16, I went to Darlington College of Technology and passed four of the O-levels in my secretarial course. I found it much easier to settle at the college than the school.

A school in a village location makes it a lot easier for the pupils to feel dedicated to their work.

Hurworth may become a "ghost village" if the school closes, because families with school-aged children would move to be near another reputable school.

Councillors may think that by combining the best with the worst would improve the standard of education received by the worst. This isn't always the case. By mixing the best with the worst it is more than likely that the standard of education received by the best lowers to that of the worst. - Margaret A Greenhalgh, Darlington.

I FIND myself enraged at some of the small-minded comments of a community.

I rarely get involved in political wrangles but the school closures situation has made my blood boil. How the people of Hurworth expect any sympathy for their cause when all they can do is criticise is beyond me.

There was a letter in The Northern Echo referring to a "them and us" situation. The only people creating that is the people of Hurworth.

I do not live in the Eastbourne area so the schooling situation does not even affect me, but I believe that every child, regardless of where they live or how much money their parents have, deserves the best the council can give them. If this means a new school in a different place, so be it.

I hope the outcome of this situation will benefit the children at both schools rather than the parents' bank balances! - Name and address supplied.

WE are the parents of two children at Hurworth Junior School. The news of the proposed closure of Hurworth Comprehensive School has come as a great shock. We anticipated that our children would be educated in the village school.

We view the proposals as unwise. The site for the new school is an industrial area of town. The start of the school day clashes with the traffic taking people to work. With all those cars, lorries and buses - think of the chaos.

Why is Hurworth being closed when its results are so good? The suggestion that it is not being closed but moved to a new site is farcical. It will be a new school on a new site.

The announcement the council has made gives the impression of a fait accompli. The council has decided and it is not up to anyone but the council to make that decision. Where has the democratic principle of listening to the public voice gone?

We are very annoyed at the way the council has handled this affair. Think again and listen to the parents of children from Hurworth. - Karen and Andrew Robson, Hurworth.

I LIVE in Hurworth but attended Eastbourne in the mid-1980s. I don't like the way The Northern Echo is printing letters saying that Hurworth thinks it is better than Eastbourne. That is not the case.

The real issues are as follows:

* The method in which Darlington Borough Council has handled the proposals both with the parish council and parents within Hurworth is totally unacceptable;

* There is nothing wrong with the school that cannot be updated;

* Hurworth's exam grades prove the effectiveness of rural education. One of the key factors in my move to Hurworth in 2001 was that our children would be within walking distance of school;

* Large schools like the one that has been proposed will not benefit any children in the long-term, fuelling my belief that the council is doing this for financial gain.

There is no reason why the money from the Government can't be spent on a new school for Eastbourne, and the money generated selling off the old school site can be used to finance the upgrade of Hurworth. Then everyone would get something positive out of what has become a sensitive issue on both sides. - Dave Brown, Hurworth.

I HAVE a 14-year-old son attending Hurworth school and an 11-year-old daughter who will join him in September.

A recent report to Darlington councillors points to concerns over the performance of Darlington's secondary schools apart from Hurworth.

Why then is the council considering closing the town's most successful school and merging it with an unsuccessful one?

It has been proved that 1,200 pupil schools do not raise standards. It will therefore fail pupils from Eastbourne and Hurworth.

My concern is that my children should continue to receive a good education. Why isn't the money, which is being made available for the new school, being earmarked to improve standards in all the schools?

Some of the schools do need updating but new modern buildings do not guarantee a good education, as we've seen in Middlesbrough recently.

After the election, Tony Blair said that his Government had learned to listen. Unfortunately Darlington council has not learned this lesson. - Mrs J Verity, Hurworth.

Published: 28/06/2005