Sir.–Having read the letter from Richard Tanner published on October 12, I feel I have to respond to the ill-informed remarks he makes about Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College.

Contrary to his observation, the college site is far from obsolete, all the main buildings have been refurbished over the last five years, the last one being completed during the summer holidays.

The college has a vibrant and positive learning environment.

This is witnessed by the results being achieved with GCSE success having improved every year for the last four years, achieving 82 per cent A* to C in five subjects last year and the progress the students have made, puts the college in the top 25 per cent of schools in the country.

It is also inaccurate to state that it does not have a defined catchment area – it does. As for being past its sell-by date he could not be more wrong. The improvement in the school results and improving Ofsted inspections demonstrate the school has a bright and positive future.

If Mr Tanner would like to visit the school, I would be more than happy to show him around.

–Paul Clasper, Chairman of Governors, Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College, Basingstoke.

Sir.–I am an ex-student at Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College and am writing to you in response to a recent letter published in your newspaper from Mr Richard Tanner. Upon reading this letter about the school, which I left with 12A*s and As in July this year, I was disgusted that anyone could refer to it as “obsolete” and “well past its sell-by date”. If I was asked to describe Cranbourne in one sentence, it would be “an environment that has developed me as a person”. I can tell you now, that this school is most definitely not obsolete. Also, as you can see I have left the school with very high qualifications, and know that I am not alone in this statistic. If this is what one would describe as “well past its sell-by date”, then surely most schools in the country are? I was at the school for five years, and in that time, I have seen the school improve, not just in terms of atmosphere to learn, but in the inspiration of teachers to teach. No one will deny that the school was not built to last this long. However, it has been fully refurbished, and now is bright, and feels like people care a lot about the site. It greatly upsets me to hear someone speak against my school as such, especially when it seems based upon no apparent evidence. I would welcome Mr Tanner to share the evidence he has of the school fitting his description. –Thomas Hicken, Loggon Road, Basingstoke.