BOTH my daughters attended Elbury Mount School and were awarded places at the Worcester Girls Grammar School.

That was nothing unusual in those years, as the establishment could boast of many achievements, being justifiably proud of the fine education it was providing for its pupils.

I think the downward spiral began when the money-grabbing council decided to sell off ground fronting the school and destroyed the imposing entrance.

There were a number of problems at various dates between April, 1995, to February, 2003, none of which should have been allowed to continue. They should have been thoroughly investigated.

It seems that heads were firmly in the sand. No one was interested enough to make a stand, and were awaiting the demise of what had once been a very fine school.

I would lay the blame on the following:

n Ofsted - for weak and conflicting reports.

n Worcestershire County Council - for not having the courage to take strong and appropriate action as the problems arose.

n Worcester City Council - for not adequately addressing the problems and allowing them to remain unresolved over the period of eight years.

n Evening News - the strong stand now being taken may well be justified but, if such a forceful stand had been taken earlier, it could well have helped to put pressure on the various authorities to rectify the problem in its earliest stages.

I trust that the relevant authorities will now make the right decision, whatever they might be, but it seems their incompetence in the past will destroy what was once a very fine school.

V P TRENFIELD, Worcester.