LETTER: Parents must stand up for what's best for their children

Sir: We are all conscious of financial necessity. Nevertheless, the Government's recent announcement about financial cuts to schools is hard to reconcile with its declared commitment to raising standards.

Our experience in the independent sector is that parents opt for independent education precisely because we can offer excellent pupil-teacher ratios, well-resourced departments and stable staff. It is tragic that the Department for Education feels constrained to jeopardise the very things that parents want.

Yours faithfully, Barbara J. Windle Headmistress The Mount School York 8 February