SIR, — So once again the children of Wheathampstead have drawn the short straw in the secondary school scramble. Nineteen children did not receive any of their chosen placements and have been given the leftovers. As a former parent and now a grandparent o

SIR, - So once again the children of Wheathampstead have drawn the short straw in the secondary school scramble. Nineteen children did not receive any of their chosen placements and have been given the leftovers.

As a former parent and now a grandparent of children living in the village I feel the deal that is dished out to our children is downright shabby. We fought hard and bitterly against the closure of the comprehensive school in the village pointing out time after time that the rising school population in the area would cause future problems.

At the time of the closure the remaining children at the school were transferred to Marshalswick School and the name was changed to Sandringham in recognition of the merger of these two schools, with an agreement that this school would in future be offered to the children living in and around Wheathampstead. What has happened to this promise? I suggest that Herts County Council hoped that this agreement would be lost in the mist of time. Well it hasn't and I hope that the present parents of Wheathampstead make their voices heard long and hard. Our children have just as much right as children living in Harpenden and St Albans to a fair deal, particularly as we had to sacrifice the school in the village of which we had been justly proud.

JANET MERCY,

Kimpton Road, Wheathampstead.