Teenager Vangie Shaw is being transferred against her will to Keighley's Braithwaite Special School.

Vangie's father Alan feels she has been let down by the education system. He says Keighley's Oakbank School - where she has been a pupil - ought to be able to cope with her severe and complicated communication disorder.

Mr Shaw says Vangie - real name Ronalda Evangeline - did well at Highfield Middle School with the help of a machine which acted as her voice. But he claims she was not allowed to use the machine at Oakbank and within weeks of her arrival there last autumn it was made plain that staff were struggling to provide for her.

Vangie's end-of-year report says despite her difficulties she tried hard and had some success in practical subjects. The Shaws had agreed that she would follow a vocational course through links with the school and Keighley College.

At a case conference last year and in family discussions since, Vangie, 14, has made it clear she wants to stay at Oakbank. She feels the transfer to Braithwaite Special School is a form of punishment.

Mr Shaw, says: "She understands, and is heartbroken. She loves Oakbank but the teachers haven't the time to teach her. If she has to go to Braithwaite she will have to go. But she is not going by my choice."

Mr Shaw, who also has a 16-year-old daughter, an 11-year-old son and a baby grandchild, adds: "We knew she would struggle at Oakbank, but she could continue there."

A spokesman for Bradford council's educational department says the decision to transfer Vangie to Braithwaite has been taken in her best interests after careful consideration of her educational needs.

"Her parents were consulted throughout this process but if they are not happy with any aspect of the decision they can appeal to an independent special educational needs tribunal," says the spokesman.

Mr Shaw, 39, and his wife Kay, 35, are annoyed it has taken ten years for the council to decide that Vangie needs specialist teaching. "She is better than they are making out," they say. "But she should have had better help earlier."

The Shaws have been told that the liberator machine which acted as Vangie's voice eased her speech problems but not her learning difficulties. Neither would its use extend her communication skills.

However, the use of communication aids may be further investigated at Braithwaite, where the council believes Vangie's special needs will be better met by a higher pupil-teacher ratio and specialist staff.

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