Schools are a class act

Sussex is scoring well in the education league tables published today by the Government.

So congratulations to the children whose results in GCSE and A-level exams have improved once again during the last year.

There was strong opposition when the last Tory Government introduced tables and they're not a perfect guide to performance.

But they do give parents, pupils and teachers a good idea of how schools are faring and councils have a chance of turning round the poor performers in time to stop them failing.

Sussex is generally well above the national average in producing children who shine in their exams, but there are exceptions.

There's no doubt, looking at these tables, that having a good background and plenty of cash still helps when it comes to getting results.

But the state schools vying with public schools near the top of the tables show good teaching can be just as potent a factor in getting children to succeed.

Tide is turning

Rising sea levels pose a big problem for many low-lying areas along the 80 miles of coastline in Sussex.

A report out today asks whether millions of pounds should be spent on preventing flooding, or whether the sea should be allowed to encroach in some places.

It really depends on how many people are living in the threatened communities. It would be economic madness to abandon sea defences at places such as Shoreham and Lancing, apart from the huge human toll of misery.

But where there's only a caravan site which could be moved elsewhere, such as at west Selsey, the case for letting time and tide have their way becomes more compelling year by year.

Family ties

Here's a heartwarming story for the millennium.

Sisters Hazel Overfield and Cherald Dalton live on the opposite sides of the world and are due to be united next year. Brought up in different families, they were best mates as kids.

But Cherald was unaware Hazel was in fact her sister - and the shock of finding out ended their friendship.

Now Cherald's flying out to Australia after winning a millennium contest by saying she'd rather meet Hazel than anyone else.

Even after all this time, the impending reunion's a touching sign that blood is still thicker than water.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.