Trentham's success down to staff and pupils, not Serco

WE WRITE as parents with two primary age children who will be going to the best non-selective secondary school in our city in the next few years, Trentham High.

I would like to question a number of comments you reported on Friday, October 3 made by our councillors during the full council meeting the day before. I feel that Mr Ibbs really should substantiate what he said with hard evidence.

You reported him saying: "The improvement in terms of Trentham High School has not been in spite of Serco, but because of Serco's involvement."

That is a ridiculous statement and shows just how little he knows about the whole situation regarding the BSF programme and, in particular, his own high school. To top it all he is Hanford and Trentham's elected councillor and is on our council to represent the wishes and feelings of his constituents.

The facts are that Trentham High came in with a blistering 57 per cent result for five A to C grades at GCSE, including English and Maths. The nearest non-faith school was Thistley Hough with 41 per cent. Sandon High, having had £18m spent on it, came in at 36 per cent.

Serco has had absolutely nothing to do with the success Trentham High has achieved this year, that is down too their great team of teachers and the fantastic kids who have worked so hard. I think Mr Ibbs is wrong in what he said about Serco. Our teachers and students have had to work diligently with Serco over them, like the grim reaper, saying they will close it.

My reply to Jean Bowers is simple. How can she say the sites where children are educated are "irrelevant"? Did she know what she was saying? If the site is unsafe, that's OK, is it? If a child gets killed on one of the worst roads for congestion in Stoke or falls under a train or in the canal on a foggy night, is that 'irrelevant'? When the council has to stand up in court under corporate manslaughter charges, will that be 'irrelevant' too?

The people who want Trentham High to stay open are not against change as Mrs Bowers inferred at the meeting, but the opposite. We want the best for all our children and the best for the city.

The logical way to do that is to keep your best school open, invest in refurbishment and state-of-the-art equipment and let a soft federation with Saint Joseph's College build one of the finest schools in the country not just our city.

JULES AND PEN TEED Trentham