Having been one of the attendees at the County Hall meeting regarding the sale of Rolle College, I was surprised, after reading the current Journal, that nobody seems to have picked up on what I believe to be the most important statement by Councillor Joh

Having been one of the attendees at the County Hall meeting regarding the sale of Rolle College, I was surprised, after reading the current Journal, that nobody seems to have picked up on what I believe to be the most important statement by Councillor John Hart, regarding his decision to advise the committee not to purchase said site.

The statement was that earlier in the year he had had a personal meeting with Exmouth Community College Principal Mr Anthony Alexander, who had said to him that, as far as he was concerned, he did not foresee any problems with the additional numbers that would be created from the new sixth forms as it had been decided to cut the intake of pupils by 60 each year, thus achieving the extra space that the creation of the new sixth formers would require.

I have to admit I went to County Hall believing John Hart to be the bad guy in this whole sorry saga but, if this is in fact true and Mr Anthony Alexander has indeed said what Mr Hart quoted, a lot of people are wasting all their time and effort to achieve something that apparently is not needed, including many of the community college governors.

I was always under the impression that the reduction of numbers to the community college was due to the fact that it was already at bursting point. The whole crux of the argument to purchase Rolle College was that Exmouth was still a rapidly expanding town and the addition of further educational facilities was vital. If it is in fact the case that the current principal is more than satisfied there is ample space and facilities at the current location, let us hope that, when Rolle College is sold to developers, the subsequent addition of several hundred houses, that is surely to follow, are exclusively for the elderly.

I believe Mr Alexander should make a statement making clear his position and to explain to the people of Exmouth exactly what he did or did not say to Mr Hart during their meeting, for it is this point that was the cornerstone of Mr Hart's argument.

Anthony Walsh,

186 Exeter Road, Exmouth.