I read with great interest the front page article (Gazette, July 29) regarding a meeting with Education Bradford and representatives of a pressure group from Addingham.

As a parent of a year 7 pupil at IGS I fully understand the anxieties of waiting for written confirmation of a place at IGS and the frustrations of IGS being oversubscribed, therefore excluding pupils from their “traditional” school. However, the proposals of creating a new school for the Burley and Menston children are at best helpful, although fanciful in the current economic climate, and at worst the actions of a group whose sole purpose is to create an admissions policy purely to benefit their community.

This is not the way forward! Gillian James, headteacher of IGS, has clearly stated that she wants all Wharfe Valley children to attend IGS. The school is also the traditional school for Burley children. Burley is closer to IGS than Addingham. The ideal solution is for all groups to work together to ensure that all children from the Wharfe Valley attend IGS, not to act in a divisive, self-interested manner that would benefit some pupils at the expense of others!

Graham Harris

Holme Grove, Burley-in-Wharfedale