We fight on, say Wakeman and Stiperstones schools

Protest placards outside the school

CAMPAIGNERS AT Shrewsbury’s Wakeman School have today vowed to fight until the bitter end to save it from closure.

Karen Moore, headteacher at the school, said that staff and governors would be looking at “all options” to save the school from closure and said that they were still determined to try to change the minds of councillors.

And campaigners at Stiperstones Primary School, who said they were “gutted” at the cabinet’s decision to close their school, have said they will not give up the fight.

Plans to close the two schools, along with primaries at Hopton Wafers, Barrow and Maesbury, were agreed by members of Shropshire Council’s cabinet yesterday.

But all of the schools facing the axe have been offered an 11th hour lifeline by council leader Keith Barrow, who said schools which come up with viable alternatives in the next six weeks of formal consultation may still be saved.

Mrs Moore said: “We are disappointed with the decision but we are not surprised. We will be fighting very hard over the next few weeks to change councillors’ minds. Governors will be looking at all options available to the school.”

Faye Moore, from the steering group of Stiperstones School, said: “We are committed to fighting until the very end.

“We sat in the Shirehall for quite a while after the decision and we were absolutely gutted, but we are not giving up yet.

“We put proposals forward to form a collaboration with other nearby schools, and although the council were impressed, we have now been told to look at forming a hard federation.”

The plans to close the five schools will go forward to the last phase of consultation with the next council meeting on July 20.

Councillor Barrow said: “We don’t want to close schools. If over the next six weeks solutions can be found then we would give them every consideration. We are still in a period of consultation.”

Cabinet gave governors at Onny and Lydbury North primary schools extra time to develop a firm business plan for federation.

The meeting also deferred a decision on creating an all-through school in St Martins.

View more: Stiperstones news, Wakeman School news.

1
SchoolsOut

May 5, 2011 at 21:55

Those who have had more than their fair share have always fought to keep their privileges, so it’s no surprise that Wakeman and Stiperstones want to keep raiding the pocket of other schools to maintain their own extra funding. Maesbury, with their pathetic plea to Marches to save them, or Barrow, with laughable aspirations to be a free school, are just the same.
The school that has come out of this with most dignity is Hopton Wafers, which read and then questioned the evidence, considered more than its own special interests and admitted that it was probably too expensive to keep open when there were places available in other schools.
Or there are Lydbury and Onny who didn’t just thrash about screaming “not us, Guv, we deserve to be a special case”. I hope they can make their federation work, or, if they can’t, eventually accept with dignity that there needs to be another solution.

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- Port Hill Boy
  
  May 6, 2011 at 11:03
  
  Well put.
  There was far too much emotion and self-interest in the words and actions of Wakeman and Stiperstones campaigners.
  Now they should move on and put the same energy into making the schools that will absorb their pupils as succesful as possible.
  
  Report abuse
  - ANDREW FINCH
    
    May 6, 2011 at 14:20
    
    And transport all the children from the villages where the school has closed to another school at the tax payers expense.Take away or reduce the choice parents have of where to send the children . where the views of the parents of those children who will be transported to another village school will always play second fiddle to the parents of the children who live in the village of the all singing and dancing super school. which in turn will moan a few years down the line we cant afford this or that because of all these new children we had to take in, and out come the voluntary contribution (compulsory) letters for parents please can you give this or that as we are hard up.
    
    Report abuse
    - OutOfSchool
      
      May 6, 2011 at 18:32
      
      Read the reports, Andrew. 91% of Barrow children come from out of area. How many children at Stiperstones actually live in Stiperstones? How many live in Snailbeach,which is about the same distance from Minsterley as from Stiperstones? Are they treated as second class by Stiperstones?
      Make no mistake, the opposition to these plans is about the maintenance of privilege at the expense of the many.
      
      Also – just checked, the savings quoted are net of any extra transport costs. Read the reports, Andrew, don’t watch your knee jerk.
      
      Report abuse
    - red ed
      
      May 6, 2011 at 21:13
      
      Andrew i agree 100% short termism thats all it is.
      
      Report abuse
    - ANDREW FINCH
      
      May 7, 2011 at 10:01
      
      Ask parents who have had children transported to schools which are far inferior to the one that closed. We can easily make figures look good for the new idea but it all falls down within 5 years.
      
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- john barnabus
  
  May 7, 2011 at 11:26
  
  Who are you SchoolsOut? – you have the information and views of a Shropshire Council representative wanting to push through this school closures programme.
  
  If you want to look at money being shared fairly look at all schools across Shropshire – schools with lots of children with disabilities/special needs cost more, rural schools cost more with transport costs etc. Would you say that children with disabilities keep their priviledges by having more money. Children who happen to live out in the sticks miles from their nearest school keep their priviledges by having more money?
  
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