Darlington ACADEMY: I WAS very pleased to hear that a way forward has been obtained for the Darlington academy.

This will allow the Church of England and the local authority to develop the education it is able to offer to the children of Darlington, and in particular, the children of the Eastbourne area, whilst also allowing Hurworth to progress its future plans.

Eastbourne School has some excellent and committed teachers and pupils. By providing a new school, with state-of-the-art facilities, it will enable the staff and pupils to use these resources to provide a first-class education, while raising the standards of achievement. - Mrs Britton, Darlington.

COMPROMISE RELIEF

I AM writing to express my relief that a compromise has been reached over the Darlington academy proposals. I am sure my relief will be shared by many people, as this matter has divided communities and even families.

All our schools need now to look to the future and concentrate on educating all the young people across Darlington.

Eastbourne School is delighted that it is to become a new academy at the heart of the Eastbourne Community. We look forward to working with the Church of England in developing these new facilities, which will benefit the whole community.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those teachers, parents and residents who offered their support to help us reach this goal. I have met some very dedicated people with a genuine interest in both the welfare and education of young people.

We at Eastbourne School wish Hurworth School all the best for its future and hope that we can get back to working together. - Councillor Veronica Copeland, chair of governors at Eastbourne School.

STAND DOWN

SO the whole academy farce appears to be sorted.

Both parties appear to have obtained an agreement on the way forward, fair enough.

However, this does not absolve this council of wasting a lot of Darlington council tax payers' money and abusing their position of influence over their Town Crier magazine.

Surely people like Darlington's chief executive Ada Burns should issue an apology for her remarks directed at the east Darlington villagers early in the debate, or she should stand down.

As for the Labour Party, who officiated over the debacle. You will still need to regain confidence in both political wards, or the proposed elected mayor will come breathing down your necks.

As an ex-Eastbourne pupil and parent of a Hurworth pupil, I am delighted the agreement means Hurworth stays and that the old Eastbourne School is demolished with a new school to be built.

This should have been agreed much, earlier before things became so acrimonious and the council became so detached from the people it supposedly represents. - Mark Anderson, Middleton St George.

ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION

AS a member of the academy support group, I am thrilled that a solution has been found.

Every cloud has a silver lining, and in this conflict I see that silver lining as the discovery that there are plenty of people dedicated to providing an excellent education.

However, the hard work really starts now. In particular, the support of the children, parents and community of Eastbourne is vital if the staff, governors and sponsors are to establish an academy that fulfils the vision of making a difference to the future of the young people of this area.

Since the first academies opened just over three years ago, there are those that have delivered, and those that have not.

The challenge is to make the Eastbourne academy one of the former rather than the latter. - Kevin Cooper, Darlington.