JOHN Spackman, chairman of the governors of Dilwyn School, is to be commended for his efforts to create a village academy in the fact of blinkered education office hostility (Hereford Times, July 21).

In the 19th century when so many village schools were built motor cars and buses did not exist yet villages existed because we are all ultimately dependent on communities and the land which is worked to sustain us.

Now past peak oil availability world economies are in recession and must settle back somehow to a position where we are less dependent on the internal combustion engine.

Village schools are ecologically sound and with the internet, no longer isolated.

Let John Spackman’s courage be rewarded by parents enrolling their children in Dilwyn to ensure a successful academy, directly funded by government, becomes a model for the future.

JOHN GAUNT, Green Lane, Leominster.