KIRKLEY High School has recently been on the receiving end of bad publicity regarding its recent Ofsted inspection and the possibility of redundancies.

KIRKLEY High School has recently been on the receiving end of bad publicity regarding its recent Ofsted inspection and the possibility of redundancies. Unfortunately, this presents a very negative view of Kirkley High when in fact there are many good things happening within the school.

My son is in year 10 and the school has consistently encouraged and recognized his attitude and achievements, in fact more so than at any of his previous schools.

He was one of the 35 students that recently took part in the cultural exchange visit to Shanghai. The teachers involved put in so much time and effort to organize this fantastic experience for the students and for well over a year they have helped them arrange fundraising activities in order to make the trip possible, often in their own time. During the trip, the students were wonderful ambassadors for both the school and Lowestoft - even the airline crew commented on their excellent behaviour.

I have no regrets about choosing to send my son to Kirkley High but what I am disappointed in is the local authority's response to the school's budget deficit.

I cannot believe that the head teacher may have to consider teaching staff redundancies at a time when the local authority's priority should be to raise educational standards and get the school off special measures as soon as possible. I find this more astounding, given the vast amounts of money that has been spent on the Suffolk schools review and in particular the pointless parent consultation exercise regarding the site for the new high school.

Dare I suggest that the local authority should reassess its priorities and start putting our children's education first and foremost?

Mrs ANN JILLINGS

Laurel Road

Lowestoft

This wins our Letter of the Week Award and the writer will receive a bouquet courtesy of Sansom's Florists.