"Demonstrably Happy"

People writing in support of the campaign have kindly given the campaign team copies of their letters to DCC. It is a privilege to read what they have said, and over the coming weeks, we'll publish a few excerpts.

It's appropriate to start with a letter from an eight year old.

"When I went to Combs Infant School the teachers were so kind to me and just a few months after I started the school I started to read books with words. So as I started reading so early I love reading and I can read books with more than 100 pages.

"Our school is like a real family where everyone looks after each other and we make sure no-one is ever sad and nobody is bullied."

And at the other end of the age range, a grandparent of three children at the school (past and present) writes:

"Value, not price, needs to be the determining factor and the figures rigorously justified. I am happy to tell Sussex friends that at a Derbyshire infant school pupils learn to read and write before they are five. They can learn French and ball skills. They know about wind and weather. They mix in classless social terms. There is no bullying. They are demonstrably happy.

"It is unbelievable that, to satisfy bureaucratic accountancy, village children will be committed to a six-mile return commute to a giant (by their terms) infant/primary school of significantly lesser attainment. Surely it cannot be the intention of Derbyshire County Council to drive people from country into town, or in to private education?"