When Labour came to power in 1997 education was at the top of its agenda. Five years later, Darlington's seven school secondary headteachers describe the stark reality of the town's education system.

WHO would have thought a few miles could make such a difference? The difference between barely having enough computers and keeping up with rapid advances in technology. It is the difference between teaching to overcrowded classes and having manageable sizes which do not stretch our teachers to breaking point. These examples are what we are talking about when we describe the disparities in funding between Darlington and other local authorities.

If you live a few miles down the road in Middlesbrough, your son or daughter will benefit from an additional £250 per year for their schooling. If you live in the south of England and your child is in a similar school he or she will have an extra £500 per year. When looked at over the lifetime of a pupil in a secondary school, this means an additional £2m per school to buy books and equipment.

The effect this has on our children's education in Darlington is vast. We as headteachers make hard choices every day. The kind where we have to decide, is it better to opt for up-to-date books to give our children the first class education they deserve or upgraded facilities so their school life is enjoyed in modern surroundings? It is not about luxury, it is about basic needs.

Standards have increased in our Darlington schools in recent years, but this has come at a price. The teachers in the classrooms have been plugging the holes left by woefully under-funded educational provision for the town, a poor relation of its nearest neighbours.

In recent years the teachers in Darlington have worked with larger classes, for longer periods and with fewer resources. Many of our teachers give freely of their time, after school, in the evenings, at weekends and in their holidays. All this at a time when many people say that they would not do a teacher's job, no matter how much they were paid. The dedication of the teachers is incalculable in terms of financial recompense, but the increased level of achievement in Darlington has been built on this freely given "extra mile". Teachers are now being stretched to their limit and the question this raises is how much longer can this go on?

There is a national problem with recruiting and retaining quality teachers. How can we expect to attract teachers to Darlington if the facilities are better and the classes smaller a few miles down the road?

The funding that is missing is not to pay the teachers more, but to provide enough teachers to meet the Government's agenda of high standards. This is not a case of extras but just providing the basics. It does not cover the standard equipment for science, history, geography and all the other subjects that we expect to find in our curriculum. How can we possibly keep up with the rapid advances in technology if we are struggling to buy enough computers?

We also expect our children to attend a school that is warm, weather-proof and has enough money to carry out repairs if it suffers an attack from vandals. In all of the Darlington schools hard decisions are being made between the quality of the building, the books that are needed and the number of teachers that we can employ to do the basic teaching.

This does not mean that there has been no progress in any of these areas since Darlington became a unitary authority. The schools have received more money than before, particularly for school buildings, but unfortunately we have fallen seriously behind most other education authorities in the country.

We, as Darlington secondary headteachers, feel that the situation is very serious and we have joined together to express this. We feel that our responsibility is to provide for the young people of Darlington the best possible education. It is our view that this provision is becoming seriously compromised. Under the current conditions standards could prove impossible to maintain.

The funding figures vary from LEA to LEA. In Darlington, the Government gives £2,350 a year to spend on each secondary school pupil. In Middlesbrough, that figure is £2,617, and in Slough it is £2,809. So, the difference can easily be £300 per pupil per year and in some cases almost £500 per pupil per year. This may not sound much, but it would make an enormous difference to the amount of money available for books, computers and equipment in one of our local comprehensive schools.

At this time the secondary headteachers and school governors are asking if this is "a budget too far". Will the teachers be capable of filling yet more gaps? Headteachers do not take such collective and public action without being sure that they are not just joining the chorus of those that feel they are hard done by. We have considered the situation carefully and decided that all the secondary schools in Darlington are under the same pressure to provide what the pupils need, without the adequate resources. We believe that the drive for increased standards in our schools is being put at serious risk and we can no longer stand by and see it happening.

The problems which lie in wait for an under-funded education service are those which could quickly cause damage to the education of the children of Darlington. Education standards could suffer. Class sizes would increase and pupils with special educational needs will increasingly find that they are in larger classes and that the school will struggle to meet their needs.

THE headteachers and governors of the schools are making hard decisions. These hard decisions are about the quality of education that we will be able to provide in the future. The problem is, like the maintenance on your house or car, if you ignore it long enough permanent damage can be done. After six years under a Darlington LEA we are just beginning to see some of the benefits of being "Darlington". Are we to lose this advantage? Will all the hard won gains in standards be lost?

People outside the teaching world might be amazed to find out that their son or daughter is worth less in educational terms than a child in Stockton or Slough. They may ask how can this be? Is it fair and why is my child worth less than children elsewhere? This is the question that the politicians have to answer. If the nation wants well educated young people - and the North-East needs them to attract high-tech companies - the money has to be invested in the early years of our children. Politician's platitudes do not buy books.

l(Pictured above, from left) Linda Hartley - Branksome School; Eammon Farrar - Hurworth School; Sue Byrne - Longfield School; David Henderson - Hummersknott School and Language College; Richard Appleton - Eastbourne School; Shelagh Potter - Haughton School; Jim O'Neill - Carmel RC Technology College