MAY I thank you for your coverage in last week's Wiltshire Times of the underfunding in our county's primary and secondary schools.

Unfortunately I was quoted as saying that Grove would be £6,000 better off if we were situated in another county. The figure is more like £60,000!

For funding, our schools are, in football's Premier League terms, the Bradford Cities, not the Manchester Uniteds of this country. In the league of 34 counties, we are standing in 26th place and relegation threatens. If we were to receive, for example, the same as our near neighbours in Hampshire, this school would have an extra £18,500 a year, enough for several extra teaching assistants. If we were funded at the same level as a Hertfordshire primary school we would have an extra £70,000 a year, enough for three more good teachers.

With this extra funding we could reduce class sizes; improve our books and equipment; provide more support for children with special needs; or give extra help to our youngest children. The standards of achievement in Wiltshire could be even higher than they are now.

In common with other Wiltshire schools we are calling on the Government to recognise the difficult circumstances we face as a rural county, and to give us a better deal when it comes to next year's budget.

PAUL BERRY,

Headteacher Grove Primary School,

Trowbridge.