OUR congratulations to Malvern Hills Primary School and all those who fought so hard to save it in circumstances that would have daunted most people.

We're sure generations of Malvern families will have reason to be grateful for their efforts and that people will be able to have their children educated in the town in the future, who might otherwise have found it difficult in our fast-growing community.

So it's gold stars to governors and parents, but particularly acting-head Andy Chilman, who has managed to turn the school around educationally in circumstances which could hardly have been made more difficult by his employers, Worcestershire County Council.

The council all but made closure a fait accompli by its actions over the last two or three years, which saw pupil numbers drop to just 44 in 2005. Well done the inspector for seeing it differently.

TALKING of councils getting it wrong, Malvern Hills District Council is finding it difficult to square the circle of arguing the need to close public toilets, at the same time as proposing to build itself a new office for £6.5 million, not least council leader Di Rayner.

Under pressure at Friday's meeting of the Great Malvern Town Centre Partnership, she said the plan for a new office had been put on hold.

She could not have been more specific at that meeting, but her statement turned out not to be true, no such decision had been taken.

A mistake under pressure? An attempt to avoid an argument she couldn't win? It makes us wonder whether Coun Rayner is an appropriate person to be the leader of MHDC?