AN OKEHAMPTON councillor is gaining support for his campaign to have lockers installed in Okehampton College.
Cllr Hyder Pirwany raised his concerns about pupils carrying heavy bags around school all day to the town council in November.
He said this kind of strenuous activity would lead to back problems in later life.
Devon County Council has told town councillors that the responsibility for providing lockers lies with the college, but headteacher Philip Herriman said the limited funds allocated to the college each year would not stretch to this resource.
Mr Pirwany has taken the matter to West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett who has promised to write a letter to the Secretary of State for Education.
In correspondence to the town council, parent Ana Pultenay said she was sure the problem had been raised many times before but with determination and perhaps some fundraising surely parents, governors, staff and the PTFA working together could help to change the situation.
'Many parents I have spoken to are very concerned about the weight of books, sportswear and so on that young people are having to carry around with them throughout the college day,' she said.
'Many of the pupils also refuse to wear coats to college because of not being able to hang them anywhere and carrying them around is not "cool".
She said it was commonly accepted that back problems could be caused by carrying heavy weights, leading to an unbalanced posture. With the NHS already dealing with many of these problems it would seem to be in everyone's interest to address the problem as soon as possible.
Mr Herriman has offered to talk to anyone concerned about the issue. He has suggested that the basement of the college could be utilised for lockers but the monitoring would have to be done on a voluntary basis.