Varndean headteacher Andy Schofield is wrong to blame the council for the drop in first-choice applications to his school (The Argus, December 3).

It is simply not true that we told parents not to apply to Varndean or any other school.

We give all parents applying for potentially over-subscribed schools the same common sense advice - if they live a fair distance from such a school, they should think carefully before making it their first choice.

In fact, of the four other schools you featured, three are over-subscribed. And none of the four headteachers had any criticism of the admissions process.

We are also puzzled by the comments made by parent John Reading in the same article. Our admissions criteria state that children with brothers or sisters at the school already are given priority.

I am sure our admissions team would have told him this if he had asked.

No admissions system is perfect and the popularity of different schools can fluctuate from year to year.

It is somewhat futile to blame the local authority for seeking to give fair and impartial information to parents to help them make what is often a very difficult decision.

We are consulting residents on whether changes are needed to the way we allocate school places and we would welcome views on this.

Further details are available from schools or from our admissions team on 01273 293563.

-Councillor Pat Hawkes, chairwoman of the children, families and schools committee, Brighton and Hove City Council