Concern about potential funding difficulties at Patcham High School were summarised well in one of your impressive series of articles about school admissions (The Argus, March 5).

It comes despite a heartening six per cent increase in the number of parents making the local community school their first choice. Such support by local parents reflects renewed and sustained optimism about their school's future following the positive verdict of Ofsted inspectors.

Nevertheless, nearly a quarter of the school's expected intake will be "directed" there by the local authority - as a direct result of the authority's own admissions procedures.

Consequently, most of the children the local authority has deemed to be "losers" in the admissions lottery will be required to attend a school a long way from their homes.

Uniquely, under local authority procedures, Patcham High School has many more places available than the current catchment area can fill.

Some 21 "directed" children live in the catchment area the local authority defined for Portslade Community College, while 11 live in the area the authority defined for Blatchington Mill and Hove Park. Many now face a round trip from home to Patcham of up to 13 miles a day.

As a governor of Patcham High School, I can assure them and their parents that we are determined to provide the best education possible for all our students.

If parents are happy to be "directed" or if they fail in any appeal to attend a nearer school, their children will arrive as an exciting era dawns at Patcham High, one characterised by increased achievement and commitment.

It is, however, crucial that the local authority, having introduced the new admissions procedure, lives up to its responsibilities and immediately guarantees a fair financial package for Patcham High. As Ofsted inspectors explicitly emphasised: continued local authority support is essential.

The outcome of any appeals, however, will not be known until mid- July. Our parents need to know now that the school will be no worse off than if the current admission arrangements had provided a full entry of 210 students.

Finally, I wish to point out that one sentence in your original article was incorrect. Patcham governors have not demanded the local authority scrap the new admissions system. Our full response to the current consultation can be found on our website at www.patchamhigh school.org.uk.

  • Greg Hadfield, governor, Patcham High School Ladies Mile Road Brighton

Little mention has been made of how the so-called lottery system has left the children of Portslade. I have three children in Year 6. One will remain in his special school. The other two currently attend a church school and as we are regular churchgoers my husband and I wish their education to be continued in a Christian school. There is only one in Brighton and Hove to which we duly applied and as we fulfilled the highest criteria for non-Roman Catholics were optimistic they would gain places.

However, it would seem that because of the so-called lottery, and so that it may be avoided, many families have suddenly remembered they are Catholic in the past year and consequently gained entry to Cardinal Newman.

Never mind, our second choice was Hove Park which we can see from our house and is nearer than our "catchment school", Portslade Community College, which we would prefer for our children not to attend. People from Portslade have always got in to Hove Park with no problem but not this year. Our third choice was a bit of a wild card, Blatchington Mill. But in my naivety, I thought if Cardinal Newman was not possible Hove Park would be.

So where are they supposed to be going? Patcham High School. I know nothing about the school but I do know where it is. It will be a journey of at least two buses each way, necessitating going into the centre of Brighton. Quite apart from the fact that I am unhappy about 11-year-olds having to undertake such a journey, what about the cost to both the environment and council? Is it really sensible to send children from Portslade to the other side of the city?

I will be appealing but am fearful of the outcome when I read that we are not the only family in this ludicrous situation. It seems that the children of Portslade have had their choice removed to appease those in other areas of Brighton and I feel let down by an education authority I have previously respected and defended.

  • Louise Markanday, Crest Way Portslade

So Patcham High School has a shortfall of numbers and the council has wasted £2.5 million on building work at Varndean School.

Since the Conservative council is now supporting the lottery can it indicate how it will make up the shortfall at Patcham High? It's council tax payers' money and only three years until the next election.

  • Anthony Radmall, Carden Avenue Brighton