Parents are urged to fight for their schools

PARENTS are being urged to save their children's schools. With the potential closure of St Sampson's Infants and La Mare de Carteret and St Andrew's Primary, parent-teacher association representatives want parents to put up a fight.

Vale parish school committee chairman Dave Bradshaw wants parents to battle for St Sampson's Infants, which feeds Vale Junior.

Mr Bradshaw said the school, with 57 pupils, three teachers and six other staff, was a valuable community asset.

'It must be terribly unsettling, not just for parents and pupils but staff as well,' he said.

'As the parish school committee, we would hope to offer them all the support we possibly can, but I think parents, teachers, pupils and ex-pupils must be devastated by the thought of this,' said Mr Bradshaw.

He urged parents to organise an opposition committee.

'I would urge parents to get together as quickly as possible and put their views to the Education Department.'

He said the school had a fantastic sense of community.

'There is no doubt that if you go into that school, the community feel is something you cannot replace in a larger establishment.

'I am urging parents to come together to see what we can do as a collective,' said Mr Bradshaw.

La Mare de Carteret PTA member Jon Bisson said Education could no longer argue that intake was low.

'I'm a taxpayer and we have got to make sure public services are kept.'

There is no doubt rationalisation will be widespread and it would be naive to believe that would not include the school system, he said, but he urged Education to think again.

'If intake was down that is something that would have to be taken on board, but it is really quite different now at La Mare.

'Decisions are often taken from black and white and the States should look at what is being done at the school rather than making a decision solely based on facts and figures.

'I know that intake is up and the school is in a good position,' said Mr Bisson.

He added that La Mare did not suffer congestion and traffic problems.

'La Mare has a lot of room. There is no congestion in and out of the school grounds like at other schools.

'I hope the States sees what

is going on there because the school has made massive improvements over the last five years and last year's report was just fantastic.

'It is a real triumph for the teachers and head Kevin Hinshaw.'