PARENTS have been invited to air their views on class sizes in a survey by Cheshire County Council.

The council's Education Committee has thrown its full support behind government plans to limit primary school class sizes to 30 by 2001.

A draft policy statement is now to be sent to local schools for comment from headteachers, governers, parents of primary school pupils, or parents of children likely to enroll before the millenium.

County Councillor Peter Nurse, chairman of the committee, said parents could examine the document at any county infant and primary school or information point and said he would be delighted to hear their views.

"There is a tremendous prize at stake here because smaller class sizes will improve standards. But it will not be achieved without a great deal of hard work and a few heartaches along the way," he said.

"It could mean that intake - and therefore parental choice - is limited at popular schools or perhaps that internal reorganisation will lead to the increase of mixed-aged classes.

"Then again there could be travel problems for parents of children unable to get in small rural schools."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.