Disgust at decision on schools

LETTER - To all Shropshire county councillors, I cannot believe that Bayston Hill Parish Council has decided there is room for only one primary school in Bayston Hill.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but the parish council has not received the opinion of the residents as the referendum has not taken place yet.

The parish council has been asked a number of times to hold a public meeting to discuss the amalgamation (that is closure of Oakland School) and to date still hasn't.

I feel that this decision by the parish council is a payback for being forced to have a referendum, which is going to cost about £2,000.

If the parish council had held a public meeting, the referendum may not have been needed. As for where the £2,000 is to come from, I seem to remember it saying not long ago it had money for good causes - well getting everyone's opinion on a very important matter is a worthwhile cause.

I feel this concern may bias people's views and make them forget what this is really about, which is letting all our children carry on with the excellent education they receive, which the different teaching ethos of two schools provides.

The numbers of pupils in Bayston Hill is set to remain at the current number for the next five years. Mr Hitchings says we need to look where we need to be in 2050 - has he got a crystal ball and is able to tell us the pupil numbers for then?

Please do not close our rural school, as it has already been proved being a bigger school doesn't mean better education.

Andrea Broadhurst, Bayston Hill