FOLLOWING Cllr Rita Krishna s article (March 22, Academies to put young people first ), I also have nothing but sympathy for any young person in Hackney who has not been able to get a place at a Hackney secondary school. The question to ask is why...

FOLLOWING Cllr Rita Krishna's article (March 22, "Academies to put young people first"), I also have nothing but sympathy for any young person in Hackney who has not been able to get a place at a Hackney secondary school. The question to ask is why.

As a parent with a child who is due to transfer to secondary school this year, I researched a little and I counted 50-plus primary schools in Hackney and 11 secondary schools to accommodate the amount of children transferring. This is not including the out-of-area intakes.

Starting secondary school is exciting, but also nerve-wracking, and this is why the children want to go to a school with their friends, or at least with other children they know.

My child did not get this option as she was rejected for a Hackney school and offered a place in an Islington school, where she knows no one, and will have to travel a long was on her own as she's an only child and has no siblings to travel with. I am a single parent (working), so will not be able to transport her to and from school. I also feel very anxious and worried about her safety, especially in the winter.

It is pleasing that the three academies are proving popular and that parents are choosing Hackney schools, but the problem remains there are not enough academies in the borough. I and many other parents chose the academies and our children didn't get a place, so we get a place in the school no one wants, or in a school outside Hackney. Is it fair that our children should have difficult journeys trying to get to school?

Another five schools opening before 2010 doesn't help the children who need a place now. The situation is a disgrace and because of this I feel the need to send my child overseas to get a decent education.

My child felt rejected and let down when she didn't get a school of our choice. Her self-esteem was crushed. All her classmates got into a school and she had to lie to her friends as she felt like she wasn't good enough to be offered a place.

Ms Turner, Northwold Road,

Upper Clapton.