SIR — The community of West Somerset have overwhelmingly spoken up against the potential threat to our highly valued 'Three Tier School' system from the governors and new principal of the newly named West Somerset College.

However, I was shocked to see in the Free Press last week that, although the college has consulted the local community, they are continuing to ignore the 89 per cent of us voters who stood against their proposals, and have decided to go ahead with their plan to seek approval from the Secretary of State to extend the age range of the college.

Is this a democracy we live in? Is it untimely that the college dropped the word 'Community' from their name, or is this decision representative of a new regime in our community?

At the summer consultation meeting at Minehead Methodist Church, the college explained how they believe that given two additional years with our children their education will be improved.

Eighty-nine per cent of us believe that the First and Middle schools already offer us a great education for our children for their first nine years. So much so that I travel 80 miles a day to bring my own children from North Devon to be educated in this community as the nurture, education, and opportunities offered by our First and Middle Schools is outstanding.

The 25 children of Dulverton Middle School, who might opt to attend WSC in years 7 and 8, should the proposal be accepted, would be lost amongst 1200 aged 13- 18 students. Is it worth risking the education of thousands of other children in the community for 25, who may choose to go elsewhere anyway? Is it not the fall in numbers at the West Somerset College, thus loss of funding, which is more at the forefront of their thinking? Or maybe there is something else they haven't shared with us as yet? The college is not engaging with this community by taking no notice of the majority vote. They leave us no alternative than to take it into our own hands.

We need to take action now. Can I ask, that as a community, all 89 per cent of us who felt impassioned to respond against the proposal, plus those who signed the petitions set up by the public, take action immediately. Write to the Secretary of State for Education the Rt. Hon. Michael Gove MP at [email protected]">[email protected] and our local MP Ian Liddell-Grainger at [email protected]">[email protected] to say NO to the proposal from the West Somerset College to extend the age range of its students.

Sally Scyner,

Lynton,

North Devon.