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SIR, — None of your correspondents about secondary school applications have come up with a practical solution to the problem faced by parents when they do not at the first allocation get a place of their choice. When they do, I, and I am sure Herts County

SIR, - None of your correspondents about secondary school applications have come up with a practical solution to the problem faced by parents when they do not at the first allocation get a place of their choice. When they do, I, and I am sure Herts County Council, will be only too willing to give it a try. Until that happy time I will continue to assist parents who seek help from me with their applications for continuing interest and appeals.

It is worth emphasising once again that in past years at the end of the process Harpenden children have been given places at Harpenden schools.

In your article headlined "School's �2.8m for sport" (Herts Advertiser, March 19), you refer to Roundwood Park School. If I had not intervened in the current budget process, the school would not now be celebrating the award of that capital grant to build a new sports hall.

You mention a previous application for an all-weather sport pitch but not that it was to be floodlit. That project was to be financed by a National Lottery Fund grant, a condition of which was that the school had to hire the facilities to outside bodies to earn an income of some �40,000 per annum.

While being of some benefit to the school, the floodlighting would have had a severe adverse impact on residents living near the school, not only in school time but at weekends and holidays. The application breached district council planning policy and was opposed by St Albans District Council, Harpenden Town Council and a large number of local residents as well as myself.

CLLR BERNARD LLOYD,

Herts County Councillor, Harpenden North East.