Parents celebrate news of reprieve for primary school

Aug 9 2006 Wirral News

PARENTS of pupils at a closure-threatened primary school are celebrating after the school won a reprieve.

St Mary's CE Primary in Eastham Village had fought proposals to close the oldest school in Wirral under the LEA's primary school review to cut down on surplus places across the borough.

Plans to shut down both St Mary's and nearby Millfields Primary and open a new CE-controlled primary school at the Millfields site were backedby Wirral Council's cabinet in March.

But parents and teachers formed an action group to save the school and the proposals have now been rejected by the Diocese of Chester's Board of Education, meaning they cannot go ahead.

Sharon Hughes, whohas a five-year-old daughter at St Mary's and a 10-month-old daughter on the waiting list, said: "Wenever thought the school should be closed in the first place as it would have been such a loss to the community.

"The diocese could find no reason for the school to be closed and this is the result parents and teachers wanted- the result the school deserved."

In its response to the consultation on the proposed closure, the Diocesan Board of Education said: "The board would be delighted to have Millfields as apartof its family of church schools.

"However, the current proposal would involve the closure of St Mary's CE School and the directors cannot see any case to close it.

"In the context of the diocese, St Mary's is not a small school - 30pc of our schools aresmaller - nor is it costly.

"The school has the strong support of its parents and community and its proximity to the church makes this vital partnership mucheasier to maintain and develop.

"It has a successful playgroup attached and the number on roll seems likely to be maintained with few surplus places."

In a report to Wirral Council's cabinet, Howard Cooper, director of children's services, said: "The creation of anew CE-controlled school in this area cannot now go ahead as the proposer, feels unable to support this proposal.

"This means the council's preferred option of amalgamating the two schools to create a new school cannot proceed."

He added: "The primary places review is intended as a rolling programme, so this area will be reviewed again in due course."