Anne was on holiday at the time of the crucial vote on July 25 and she flew back from Rome at her own expense to ensure her vote was registered.

Anne had nothing to gain personally from the vote but she knew what was at risk for the whole of Sheffield if the Building Schools for the Future money was jeopardised. Thank you, Anne, for your unfailing support.

Mrs Claire Chapman - Myers Grove Parents Action Group

Another school doomed

Mike Russell's piece on the Myers Grove/Wisewood dispute (July 26) ended with the very important point that another secondary school in the city may have to be closed before the end of the decade.

Anyone even vaguely familiar with the situation in Sheffield will have a good idea of where the axe will fall. This makes Abbeydale Grange's decision to adopt Foundation school status all the more interesting (and depressing).

Until very recently, secondary school closures were rare and occurred only in extreme circumstances. The Government's BSF programme has transformed the situation completely. Throughout the country, secondary schools are being closed and amalgamated at an alarming rate.

The focus on falling rolls is shortsighted and is being used as a smokescreen. Populations rise and fall, nationally and locally. Britain's birthrate is now higher than it's been for 13 years. The present wave of school closures will necessitate a wave of school expansions in 10 years' time.

The Government is using falling rolls to its advantage, encouraging local authorities to close existing schools and open amalgamated new ones so that ownership and control of the school can be put out to tender. Existing schools can choose whether or not to become a Trust school.

In addition to supporting the creation of Trust schools, the falling rolls issue is leading to the fragmentation of the secondary education system in other ways. We will see more schools like Abbeydale Grange adopting Foundation status, not because of any educational benefits this is supposed to bring, but rather in an attempt to stave off closure (foundation schools have a right of appeal which community schools don't). We'll see over the next couple of years whether this strategy works.

It is hard to exaggerate the impact that a school closure has on the local community. This is why local authorities need to resist central Government pressure. Some do. Tower Hamlets has pointedly broken the first commandment of BSF funding: 'thou shalt diversify provision'. In Sheffield, there is no will at all to challenge anything the Government says or wants.

Darren Webb, S6

Shock at Wisewood

Wisewood is a popular and successful school at the heart of its community which has educated local children and their parents and grandparents before them. It is currently ranked sixth in the city for value added.