SAVE our Community Schools: it is worth pointing out just how badly the people of Hillsborough have been let down. The Consultation exercise was a sham. The Consultation document was a piece of propaganda with incorrect calculations and illogical reasoning. The 20 meetings were little more than a sales pitch by the Council to sell the option which they clearly had already decided upon and have formalised.
The council persist in the myth of falling numbers. They don't say that they are talking about falling numbers over the whole of North West Sheffield. Numbers are not falling in Hillsborough and Stannington. They are dipping before rising to above cu
rrent levels. Indeed, the Health Authority data which the Council use show that in 10 years there will by 1700 secondary age students in the area and rising year on year. This is about the same as the current schools capacity. The Council are only proposing 1200 places at the new school forcing 500 students to travel elsewhere. They blithely state that excess students can travel to King Edwards VII or Bradfield schools.
This highlights one of the real underlying reasons for the closure. The numbers are falling in Bradfield and King Edward VII's catchments. The excellent and popular school at Wisewood is being sacrificed to maintain numbers elsewhere.
However, we do not support the closure of any school. We believe that smaller community schools are the best way to educate young people, rather than transporting them long distances and forcing them to endure a factory style education in huge impersonal schools. If the Council wants to improve results in the city they should focus on supporting successful, smaller schools with smaller class sizes, rather than closing them down.
For more information on our campaign visit our website at http://freespace.virgin.net/toby.mallinson/ or email us at saveour.communityschools@virgin.net
Toby Mallinson, Secretary, Save Our Community Schools
The full article contains 322 words and appears in Sheffield Star newspaper.
