I was really frustrated to read the headline ‘Council calls for U-turn on school’s iPad plan’.

The small-minded thinking of a few often spoils things for everyone else, and the council’s misinformed approach is yet another example of their seemingly deliberate strategy of holding our community back with bureaucracy, red tape and poor decision-making.

You only have to look at the facilities, shops and upkeep of communities like Ilkley and Skipton to begin wondering what have successive Otley councils been doing since 1973?

With regard to the scheme, it is hard to understand how £360 over three years can be such a hardship, which is why 90 per cent of parents have been in favour of the scheme, and for those families really struggling the school has a plan in place to support them.

Furthermore I (and I am sure other parents) would be willing to pay a little more to help out. By the time our Year 8 students leave school, competition for jobs and university places will be even more intense than it is now. Only the very best will make it, so to enable them with every modern tool available is essential.

The school has taken a thorough consultation process, sourced equipment at a very good price, and partnered with The e-learning foundation to make this scheme as affordable as possible. If Otley Town Council have real concerns then why not dig into their coffers to support the scheme, but please don’t stop it or slow it down. By the way, to check your funds, you turn your iPad on by sliding to the right and your accounts will be held in an excel spreadsheet – it’s a green icon with a X on it.

Nick Girling, Pool-in-Wharfedale