MINISTER Charles Clarke's reaction to the plea to improve the grossly inadequate and unfair funding within our county was infuriating but typical.

Two months ago, I started a parents' campaign to protest to the Government about the sheer moral injustice of the funding system in this country.

Despite already having more than 1,000 petitions from schools across Worcestershire, backing from our local MPs, and being supported by local businesses and our town council, the Education Department has flatly refused to see us.

Mr Clarke is very keen to tell us "that urban centres, such as Birmingham are always going to be in a stronger position".

What he doesn't say is that the funding list upon which our campaign protest is based does not include areas such as the West Midlands or London and so on, but counties that are similar to our own, but receive much greater levels of funding than we do.

We are 33rd out of 34 such counties with regards to pounds spent per child per year. Mr Clarke's own constituency of Norfolk receives an extra £187 per child per year more than children in Worcestershire - how can he justify that? Where is the "prioritisation" he talks about?

HELEN DONOVAN,

St Margaret's Road,

Evesham.