I must take issue with Kevin Dale's comments about East Brighton College of Media Arts (Comart) (Letters, March 4).

The LEA took the decision last year to consult on the future of Comart because the majority of parents in its locality had been voting with their feet for a number of years and selecting other schools for their children.

Comart is only about half full, with 450 pupils. This has meant we have had to cross-subsidise the school to the detriment of other schools that have been performing much better in academic terms.

There has been no big groundswell of opinion against the closure proposal.

During formal consultation in December and January, we received only 32 objections, including three from the same person and a petition with fewer than 50 names.

We looked in detail at a wide range of options for the future of the school, including a smaller school and a federation with another school.

But none of them offered a viable future academically, socially or financially.

The LEA has recommended closure to the city's school organisation committee, which is due to make a decision on March 10.

In the meantime, we have been working extremely hard behind the scenes with the Comart pupils and parents who will be affected if the school closes.

The result is that we have made arrangements for nearly all of Comart's Year 9 and Year 10 pupils that clearly take into account the preferences of the pupils and their families.

Academic standards in the city have been rising year-on-year since the city council was formed in 1997 and last year we had the biggest ever overall improvement in GCSE results.

David Hawker, our director of children, families and schools, has made a massive contribution to this success.

I would invite Mr Dale to engage with us to ensure that those of his children who attend Comart get the most appropriate arrangements for their future education.

-Councillor Pat Hawkes, chairwoman, Children, Families and Schools sub-committee