Letter: It’s not fair on the boys

Having read Ursula Spencer’s comments in this week’s paper, I agree wholeheartedly that Batley Girls’ High School should be encouraging integration instead of segregation. Isn’t it against Kirklees’ Equal Opportunities Policy and blatant discrimination against boys by having a single sex school in Birstall? Why doesn’t someone challenge this?

Furthermore, having read the comments from Ray Henshaw, Deputy Head of the school, in the same issue of your paper, that “we are committed to reduce our carbon footprint”, surely he must realise that this would be drastically reduced if pupils were not bussed or driven in cars/taxis to the school every day from other areas. The roads surrounding the school are a rat run at school times and Windmill Lane is badly congested with cars parked on both sides of the road, but at the same time Birstall market place is swarming with local children being bussed to schools in other areas. Is all this unnecessary travel good for the environment?

The figures below are for the numbers of pupils (January 2011) aged 11 – 16 who attend Batley Girls’ High School - out of 950 pupils, only 54 are from Birstall, 559 from Batley, 328 from elsewhere in Kirklees and 9 from other areas outside Kirklees. That means almost 900 pupils travel by road to the school each day, how big does that make their carbon footprint! And why haven’t these figures been published for us all to see?

Moreover, the government is telling us to promote “localism”, how can we do that in Birstall when our children have to travel out of the village to get their choice of education? Local schools should be for local children, who could walk to school.

It needs every parent of Birstall children to try and stop this discrimination against the boys in our village, don’t just leave it to a few to campaign against this, get together and make your voices heard so brothers and sisters can go to school together.

J GRAHAM

Brow Wood Road

BIRSTALL