Long-serving Wakeman teacher Mike Griffiths reflects the passion many people feel for the closure-threatened Shrewsbury school.

Mike, who has taught there for the past 28 years, said: “I love it. It has been my life. When you enter the school, there are two large boards just inside the front doors,each showing a red heart and covered with signatures. The boards state: “We love our school. Our school loves us.”

It is this passion which is firing a strong campaign by the school and hundreds of supporters to prevent closure in 2013 as Shropshire Council looks to tackle surplus places in the county and funding problems.

Mike, head of arts at the Wakeman — it obtained arts college status in 2008 — took me on a tour of the only state secondary in the town centre area so I could get a feel of its work and why it must remain open.

There is no doubting its inclusive ethos. Every pupils matters. For example, works of art by all pupils will go on display. In fact the amount of art on show is amazing in the main corridor. Many are absolutely breathtaking in their depth and originality.

I very quickly gained the impression The Wakeman is not short of talented young people. Much of the inspiration of pupils — not only in art but also in other areas of study — is drawn from the school’s closeness to the town.

“Other schools and people have to Google Shrewsbury to learn about the town but we experience it every day,” said Mike.

“Our children understand the town. They are part of it, they appreciate it, they understand it and they benefit from it.”

I can see this close relationship with the town, which is steeped in so much culture and history, enriches the learning of Wakeman pupils. And this experience will be lost if the axe falls.

As Mike guided me through the school, he said the “power of art” was felt across the curriculum, in subjects such as geography, history and English.

He added: “The Wakeman is a place where you can express yourself and feel safe.”

I was impressed by the first-rate facilities. In the last 10 years more than £4 million has been invested in improving resources and it shows everywhere.

I saw large numbers of pupils busy with computer studies and the digital media studio would be envy of many schools.

I also saw young people enjoying a food technology lesson (cookery to me and you) in a very well-appointed kitchen. This facility is also used by students from the town’s sixth form college.

When it was announced last month that the school faced possible closure, chairman of governors Andy Rayment, said in a statement that the Wakeman with its inclusive ethos, had served the town well for many years, providing a good education for children of all abilities.

He said pupils could feel very proud and there were many studies to support the view that learners do well in a small secondary such as The Wakeman.

I’m sure he is right in all he says.

I came away feeling that it is very special place and, if it should close, its loss will be deeply felt, not just in Shrewsbury but in a much wider area.

It’s a great shame — and I know that many involved with the school feel angry about this — that rumours which have circulated for several years about its future, were never quashed early on by education bosses.

These rumours have no doubt undermined the school, deterring many parents from sending children to The Wakeman.

After my visit I read the school’s last Ofsted report, from September 2007.

It includes a letter from the inspectors to pupils, in which they say the young people are “rightly proud” of their school and that it’s “a happy place to be”.

That seems to sum it up very well.