Climber Bro

Bro3 climbing the dunes on the West Sands at St Andrews this afternoon.

The school meeting last night got a bit heated at times to say the least with almost every family in the school being represented by one or both parents. It showed just how strong the feelings are in our community and actually was great to see us all pulling together just as I'd hoped we would. Members of our community and local councils also attended and were very much on the side of the parents. The education officer from the council was adamant that he had no firm proposal in place and that a mere notion had been blown out of all proportion. He was on the defensive from the outset and clearly knew there was no way the parents were even willing to enter into any discussions regarding even entering a consultation process. A school 5 miles away needs an extension to it's current accommodation and the existing building also has structural issues. The council's notion of merging it with 2 small schools and building an entirely new school rather than extending a problem building meant our village school was being targeted as an option for merger. A few of the parents had thoroughly researched their arguments and put their points across in an intelligent and succinct manner. Our school is small but with over 30 pupils it is far from the smallest in the county and our Victorian building is structurally sound. The inspectorate reports are very positive regarding the quality of teaching delivered and the attainment of the pupils. Importantly it is without doubt the heart of our community and to lose it is just not an option for our village. To cut a long story short our school is now no longer being considered for merger.

PHEW!!
Well, until next time but we're on our guard and have our councillors and government legislation on our side.