Congratulations are clearly due to everyone involved in the successful turn-around of Thomas Lord Audley secondary school in Colchester, but at the same time it is important that we do not forget the background as to why the school was threatened with closure.

Several years ago Essex County Council proposed the merger of Thomas Lord Audley (Monkwick) with Alderman Blaxill School (Shrub End), something which was opposed by those associated with each school. The merger was abandoned.

Shortly afterwards, the now disgraced Lord Hanningfield – but at the time Leader of Conservative controlled Essex County Council – personally took over secondary school reorganisation in Colchester – and declared that both schools would be closed!

For Monkwick children, the intention was that they would be bussed to The Stanway School which would be enlarged.

Because the distance was less than three miles, parents would have to pay for the transport.

Lord Hanningfield used the Labour Government’s ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme to justify the closure of the two schools, and the expansion and re-modelling of others including a completely new school at Greenstead to replace the then Sir Charles Lucas School.

It was made clear that if Thomas Lord Audley did not close then none of the programme in Colchester would proceed.

Labour in Colchester agreed with this, sacrificing the continuation of Thomas Lord Audley as an 11 to 16 years secondary school, in order to get a new school at Greenstead.

Thomas Lord Audley School would have closed if Labour had won the 2010 General Election.

They did not. Instead we had the Coalition Government, one of whose early decisions was to scrap “Building Schools for the Future” – thus ensuring that Thomas Lord Audley remained open.

In due course, the Coalition Government funded the new Colchester Academy to replace Sir Charles Lucas School, thus proving that the closure of Thomas Lord Audley was not a necessary requirement to fund a new school at Greenstead.

Having been directly involved from start to finish in the campaign to save Thomas Lord Audley School, and with all the above documented, I am keen that no-one today should seek to airbrush the past.

Sir Bob Russell, Former MP for Colchester, Catchpool Road, Colchester

I SAW your article on the future of St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Birch and felt compelled to write to say how sorry I would be to see the church demolished.

I know it is a complex issue, but on a sunny day the church is an absolutely stunning site to see as you cycle, walk or drive through the Essex countryside.

This part of Essex is a rural treat and the landscape around Birch one of the highlights.

I hope there is a solution which can protect such a beautiful piece of architecture which provides a focus for the surrounding area while also meeting the parochial church council’s wishes for it to remain an area where people can meet up for worship and quiet reflection.

Personally I think sitting close-by a beautiful church surrounded by lush, verdant fields in a peaceful part of north Essex with the sun beating down is the perfect place for quiet reflection about life, but that might just be me!

Ben Hall, Garland Road, Colchester

HARWICH, a geographically isolated community, is to be left without full-time firefighters, but our local MP seems to think that this is acceptable on the basis that there are ‘far fewer callouts than there used to be’.

This may be true, but it will not help when we are unlucky enough to have two call-outs on the same night.

It will not help on the rare occasion when a young family is trapped upstairs in a burning house whilst waiting for a fire engine to complete the half-hour journey from one of our neighbouring towns.

Mr Jenkin, there is only one person sticking his head in the sand and I suspect that he doesn’t live in Harwich.

Maison Urwin, Nelson Road, Dovercourt

WITH regard to the letter from Chris Beard stating lack of interest by the police when problem youngsters are reported in the Manningtree area. I would point out that when Mistley Police Station was in operation, the officers stationed there would know about this problem themselves and deal with it before it became a major incident.

Bring back a police presence on the streets and a lot of crime would be prevented!

Shirley Carman, Ramsey