Sir, – Since the publication of the statistics on education, we have faced some criticism regarding the performance of Dundee’s schools.
It doesn’t matter that schools have been working really hard on behalf of pupils. We accept the criticism and will continue to work with schools to help pupils.
However, on behalf of schools, I feel I must take issue with the comments of Councillor Ian Borthwick.
He stated that those who live in the poorer areas can’t afford to move to the better areas to go to the better schools.
I find those comments disgraceful and a slap in the face to the schools that Councillor Borthwick deems not to be the better schools.
All our schools do a fantastic job in difficult circumstances.
Parents don’t need to move to an area to attend a different school.
They can put in a placing request to any school they want to. Parents in “the poorer areas” do that already as Councillor Borthwick must know as we debated this at committee recently.
Clearly Councillor Borthwick wasn’t paying attention. We have had briefings for councillors with regards to what is happening and what we are doing. Opposition councillors who have attended have been very constructive.
We have taken on board their suggestions and have implemented them when we can.
Unfortunately, one councillor who hasn’t been to any of these meetings is Councillor Borthwick. No wonder he is so unaware of what is happening. Perhaps that is why he stated that he has failed the young people of Dundee.
Councillor Stewart Hunter.
Convener of Children and Families Service,
Dundee City Council.
Truth about Dresden raids
Sir, – One can only admire the enthusiasm of Rev Dr John Cameron in the writing of his letters to The Courier.
There are times, however, when enthusiasm overcomes accuracy. In his latest contribution he comments on the bombing, in February 1945, of the “hospital city of Dresden” in Germany, by the RAF.
My own experiences in and of the Second World War make no references to a hospital city.
The Allies were under pressure from Stalin to bomb Dresden as the Red Army was fighting its way into Germany.
Dresden had been declared a German military strongpoint, a vital rail junction supplying the troops facing the Russians and a major industrial centre.
Dr Cameron perhaps could read the papers of Dr V. Klemperer, I Shall Bear Witness.
Dr Klemperer was dismissed from his job at Dresden University in 1934, solely because he was Jewish and survived, mainly as a result of being married to a non-Jewish wife.
Having survived so long, his luck ran out and he was due to report to Gestapo headquarters on February 16 for transportation to the Treblinka extermination camp.
The air raids of February 13 to 15 destroyed the Gestapo HQ and all the records within. He then survived until the end of the war. Perhaps someone was watching over him.
Dr Klemperer kept secret diaries throughout the period from when he was dismissed from his university job, which revealed how the Jews were treated and the conditions they were forced to endure.
Discovery of his diaries would have meant instant death.
Critics of the bombing campaign which saved many more Jewish and political prisoners from being executed have a wonderful weapon: it is called hindsight.
George A Cormack.
2 McLauchlan Rise,
Aberdour.
Cut office not frontline staff
Sir, – Our granddaughter has just presented a letter from her school indicating, with immediate effect, there will be no school crossing helpers at lunchtimes.
This is another service cut we the taxpayers have no input into.
It seems Angus Council will go to any lengths to maintain staff levels and costly benefits and pensions when every other employer, be it private or otherwise, looks to the largest of the direct overhead costs, that being wages and salaries, to reduce costs and spending.
I would think frontline services could be maintained while leaving room for cost cutting in other areas of staff.
Tom Short.
21 Rossie Island Road,
Montrose.
Attacks on Tories pollute politics
Sir, – Was the Leven, Kennoway and Largo by-election result a brilliant result for Labour as Councillor Tom Adams (December 17) claimed?
He was upbeat about his party’s defeat as it came within 48 votes of victory.
One of the reasons it did so was that, in the final stages of the single transferable vote count, more than 300 Conservative votes came over to Labour. The SNP can make only limited political capital out of this as it got more than 50 transfers from the Conservatives, enough to give its candidate Alistair Suttie victory.
What this indicates is that the two largest parties in Fife rely more on the Conservatives than they are prepared to admit.
Few things pollute the atmosphere of political debate like remarks such as, I don’t sit down with Tories, or, we must wipe the Conservatives off the map in Scotland (and sometimes much worse).
Apart from anything else, it is hypocritical. The parties in Westminster and Holyrood work together much more than the voters are ever allowed to know.
They pick up the finer points of each other’s policies and adapt them.
They are often forced to work together because the voters haven’t given any party a majority. And as we saw in Levenmouth, those voters who did turn out were prepared to support different parties and not just one.
Bob Taylor.
24 Shiel Court,
Glenrothes.
Unwarranted influence
Sir, – David Robertson (December 20) offers no support for his claim that Secular Scotland aims to remove religion from the public square.
He claims we mock religion but satirical comments on our open Facebook forum represent the views of individuals and not the group.
He sees a threat in my statement that he should be free to preach in the street as long as others aren’t inconvenienced, but that is just sensible policy and equally applies to someone promoting secularism.
Mr Robertson thinks a church should get reserved education committee seats if it also gets to run some state-funded schools.
This is propping up one privilege with another, and Secular Scotland opposes both.
Moreover, these seats give churches influence over other schools that they didn’t build and never ran.
Robert Canning.
Secular Scotland.
58a Broughton Street,
Edinburgh.