I FEEL I must write in full support of the members of the PTA at St Michael's School concerning their cancelled fete.

I can appreciate Mrs Martin's point that the staff have been working hard to unify the two schools, what she needs to remember is that she is at present head of St Michael's and it is St Michael's which deserves her full support at this time.

As an ex-member of a school fundraising team, I would suggest Mrs Martin would do well to keep her existing PTA members on side. It is often difficult to find enough members willing to give up their time to arrange events such as fetes etc which bring in extra funds for the schools they support.

A good school fundraising team needs a number of things to be successful a dedicated group of regular volunteers, the support of school staff and the caretakers and a healthy bank balance.

I assume Mrs Martin is relying on the generosity of the existing PTA to help her put on the joint events she is planning later in the year, or will she be financing them herself?

I hope Mrs Martin has such a team behind her new Friends of The Manor Association. Finally has the other school been asked to help out, both physically and financially?

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED