What happens to Essex's schools is, it seems, down to one woman.

Tracey Chapman sits on the county council's cabinet. She holds the brief for education as portfolio holder for schools, children and families. It sounds innocuous enough; even comfortable. But it is a powerful position - so powerful she can shape the county's schools and not hold consultations until after the fact.

This is what the Gazette believes happened with Colchester's Alderman Blaxill School and Bishop's Park in Clacton. It is why the Gazette launched a campaign to save Alderman Blaxill and why the Gazette wanted to interview Ms Chapman.

We took second-best - written answers - because our priority is to keep north Essex communities informed about everything which affects their way of life.

So, the first question concerned Alderman Blaxill's poor Ofsted report. The Gazette wondered - given the high proportion of excluded pupils and special needs children - if the report had been fair.

Apparently, it had. Ms Chapman stressed Ofsted inspectors "make their judgment based on the ability of the children in a particular school ... these pupils are not making the progress other pupils of similar ability make in other schools nationally".

It is this Ofsted report which is the reason behind the county council suggesting the school should close. But the Ofsted report is relatively recent.

To propose closing a school building and joining its pupils with those of another school as an academy - the latest Labour Party buzzword in secondary education - does not happen overnight.

This begged another question: why has the county council not kept Alderman Blaxill staff, governors and parents in the loop about the school's future?

According to Ms Chapman, it set up meetings as soon as it received the contents of the Ofsted report.

As the latter is something of a red herring in this context, the question has not really been answered.

Instead, Ms Chapman blames the Gazette for breaking confidentiality by saying the school could close.

She wrote: "The Gazette completely undermined a tried and trusted policy of informal discussions followed by formal consultation and forced the LA (local education authority - Essex County Council) to accelerate a process which could have been handled much better if had not for the intervention of the Gazette."

Yet it still took the county council five days after the Gazette had broken the story to call Colchester Garrison - Alderman Blaxill is the designated school for children of Army personnel - to a meeting over the school's future.

Again, Ms Chapman cited Ofsted confidentiality.

She was adamant the county council would ensure special needs pupils at Alderman Blaxill "receive good quality education" should the school close.

Likewise, the county "would not lose" the school's child dyslexia unit - the only one in north and mid-Essex - which would be relocated.

But it isn't only the future of Alderman Blaxill and the well-being of its pupils which are at stake.

The secondary school is now the third in Colchester under special measures - the town has three of only six in the county. The Gazette wondered how the town, with a history of high achievement in education, could be in such a position - and how much responsibility the county council, as the local education authority, took for this situation and for Alderman Blaxill's poor Ofsted report.

Ms Chapman insisted the county council "takes seriously its responsibility for ensuring all children have access to high quality provision", but "recognises the autonomy of schools and seeks to ensure intervention is proportionate".

As to the special measures crisis, she stressed "there is no single factor which explains the situation".

She said the county council is "providing support for all three schools...we have confidence that progress is being made and will see them coming out of special measures in due course".

Which raises a question we were unable to put to Ms Chapman - will she use her power to keep Alderman Blaxill School open after it is out of special measures?

BISHOP'S PARK - A WHITE ELEPHANT?

Bishop's Park secondary school in Clacton was built only five years ago. Now it will amalgamate with the town's Colbayns High School because it has too few pupils - even though Essex County Council had been warned Bishop's Park would never reach its 800-plus maximum.

Tracey Chapman explained: "If a new school had not been built in Clacton there would not be sufficient secondary school places for children in the town.

"The school was built with capacity to deal with an expected increase in population. It was anticipated in 1999 that there would be over 1,000 new dwellings in the Clacton area, whereas the reality is currently just over 800. (Also), the annual level of net inward migration was not maintaind at the three per cent level, but has reduced to one per cent, so the population has not continued to grow as forecast."