I PRESUME the correspondent last week who wrote that schoolchildren educated outside this town expect more opportunities in life included youngsters who live here but are taught elsewhere.

As he quite rightly states, we have two excellent high schools here as acknowledged by Ofsted in their official language, and I firmly believe that if a child receives the encouragement and support from their parents, then they will excel at whichever school they attend.

However, this movement of schoolchildren to other outside areas is now apparently seen by some as enhancing their social status.

It seems a little bizarre that one can see school buses going from area A to location B, whilst at the same time other buses are leaving location B to travel to area C. Still, I suppose the grass is always greener.

This farcical situation has now even percolated down to primary school level. Well if people want to rely on dubious so-called league tables, then this town's primaries are nearly all up in the top 25% of Cheshire schools - pretty good by any standard.

I can even see the day when mums-to-be will travel to hospital elsewhere to give their newborn a supposed better start in life.

As for the majority of school pupils being written off, I think that is a little unfair to teachers, governors and other interested parties.

Some pupils, unfortunately, don't want to better themselves - even in my grammar school days we had a fair proportion - but the vast majority are encouraged to achieve high standards.

If the vast majority of children of this town who are educated elsewhere, were schooled here then maybe for a change other towns' inhabitants would be making the kind of remarks written last week.

Myself, and many others will continue to work passionately towards that day.

Interested of Over

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