All we want is to raise standards: The front pages of the Oxford Mail on May 11 and 13 and accompanying editorials present a somewhat partial and inflammatory view of the consequences of the proposed city reorganisation.

Firstly I refute, most strongly, the suggestion that we have embarked upon the proposals with "less forward thinking than ...required".

This issue has been debated and considered by Oxfordshire County Council for more than 20 years against a background of change elsewhere in the country and higher standards in comparable cities.

The case for two-tier is well made if by no other means than by precedent, curriculum structure and a proper concern to raise standards for all pupils now and in the future.

The proposals on which the informal consultation and subsequent committee consideration were based comprised a carefully thought-out and detailed plan, some aspects of which could only be formulated once agreement in principle to proceed had been reached; we would have been criticised if we had pre-empted this agreement. We are also committed to monitoring the process and modifying or amplifying the proposals if necessary so to do parents would expect nothing less.

There is no indication that the staffing position at the two middle schools you cite (Temple Cowley and Wesley Green) is replicated at the other eight middle schools in Oxford. There is always movement of teaching staff (as in other professions) and there are, therefore, always vacancies not all of the present vacancies are the result of the reorganisation.

Of the 150 vacancies listed in Oxfordshire's teacher vacancy list of May 3, only nine are in Middle schools. Difficulty in recruiting new teachers to middle schools has much to do with the rapidly shrinking numbers of middle schools throughout the country (indeed it is one of the reasons for the present proposals).

Added to which all LEAs would acknowledge that teacher recruitment is getting more and more difficult. The education department will ensure that in September (and, for the duration of the reorganisation) sufficient teachers will be available to provide full curriculum cover.

We have already announced the allocation of significant additional sums of money for this and other purposes in the context of the review more than requested by the middle schools. In addition, the DfEE recently announced the allocation to all schools of funding supplements (30,000-40,000 p.a. for middle schools).

The Oxford Mail on May 13 mentioned the low level of application by parents for places at Milham Ford School.

Let us remember that parents have long been able to express preferences for their choice of school and parents in the city have taken full advantage of this opportunity, something which has resulted in a pattern of under-subscription at some schools and over-subscription at others. This is nothing new. It should also be pointed out that this year sees a greater number of pupils in middle schools seeking places in upper schools than ever before. It was inevitable that the level of over-subscription this year would be higher than before, irrespective of any plans to reorganise.

Your article notes expressions of interest by parents in the independent sector. There is, however, no apparent increase in the number of parents from the city seeking places for their children outside the city but in the maintained sector which you might have expected if the expressions of interest reflect dissatisfaction with the proposals.

The proposals have at their heart the intention to raise the quality of education provision in the city. The majority of those involved, (first and upper schools) support the proposals.

Only a minority whose names we have now become so familiar with through your paper do not.

Let us also remember that the whole process is subject to the democratic checks and balances provided by: the publication of statutory notices; the education committee; the schools organisation committee and, ultimately, a Government adjudicator.

We have just reached the end of the period for the publication of statutory notices. This is a process which seeks objections and not indications of support, little wonder then that the air has been filled with the former and not the latter in recent weeks.

All that notwithstanding, I am sure your readers will be intrigued to hear that we understand that only three middle schools outside of the Catholic sector have submitted statutory objections and that the number of letters of objection is also small despite 26 of them being signed by one person! Finally, let us be clear that what is defended so vehemently by a few, the three-tier system, was borne not from a philosophical stance or a desire to produce the best sequence of education for children but simply by geographic considerations.

At least now elected members have had the courage to put the issue of achievement to the forefront and the good of all children across the whole city.

I look forward to continuing to work closely with the heads, teachers and governors in the interests of the pupils of Oxford city.

G Badman

Chief Education Officer ******Doomed school praised: A second school earmarked for closure has been praised by watchdogs.

Milham Ford School for girls set for the axe under the shake-up of schools in Oxford was told it showed an "evident commitment to continued improvement".

The Ofsted inspection was carried out a month after councillors signalled the end of the school by voting to scrap the city's current three-tier system and replace it with a primary and secondary structure.

The report comes a week after another doomed school, Donnington Middle, was also praised by inspectors.

Campaigners fighting the closures say it shows education chiefs have got it wrong.

Inspectors said standards at Milham Ford, off Marston Road, had improved since the last inspection. There was a positive ethos in the school thanks to good leadership, teaching and learning were found to be good and pupils' personal development was very good.

GCSE and A-level results had also improved but A-level performance was still below the national average, the report said.

Headteacher Anne Peterson said she was delighted with the findings, adding: "It highlights our improving standards and that is very important.

"About 35 per cent of our pupils have English as a second language and Ofsted recognised the great improvements they had made.

"There is a lot of anger about the proposed closure of our school. Parents do not want to send their girls to a school that will have between 1,200 and 1,500 pupils. Our pupils need to continue to be taught in this environment to ensure their standards continue to improve and they do not become socially excluded." Milham Ford, the city's only single-sex state school, has about 280 pupils, the majority Asian.