SAVE OUR SCHOOL  

Small schools support healthy communities - oppose primary schools closure in Shropshire!   

   

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We, the undersigned, strongly object to the proposed new policy document for reorganisation of primary schools in Shropshire.

Please provide the following information:

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Our online petition at No.10 Downing Street, London is now closed. We received 830 signatures. Thank you to everyone who signed. This is the Prime Ministers response:

The policy document you refer to was produced by Shropshire Local Authority, which is reviewing its primary school provision.  As part of the review I understand the authority has published proposals to close Lydbury North CofE Primary and transfer the pupils to Clunbury CofE Primary School. 

Shropshire local authority is responsible in law for the effective and efficient organisation of school places within its designated area.  It must determine how many schools are needed to serve the local population and where those schools should be.  Government Ministers have no role in this process. 

The Council has published its proposals and that objectors have had the opportunity to submit their case to the local authority in the six week representation period which ended on 29 October.  In coming to a decision, Shropshire County Council must consider all representations made.  It must also have regard to the presumption against closing rural schools, and must take account of several other factors including transport availability and cost, alternatives to closure and the impact on the community. 

The Government recognises that rural schools are an important part of the rural landscape and an important factor in keeping rural communities alive.  This is why we introduced the presumption against the closure of rural schools in 1998. But we cannot guarantee that no rural school will ever close if the case for closure is strong and clearly in the best interests of educational provision in the area.  For example, closure can be justified when all the parties agree, or when an alternative school can offer superior facilities within an acceptable travel distance.  

Jim Knight MP, the Schools Minister, wrote to all local authorities in January to make clear the Government’s position on rural schools.  In particular he encouraged authorities to look at other options for reducing surplus places before considering school closures, such as rationalising school space - by removing temporary accommodation, consolidating split site schools, or broadening the services their schools offer in line with the likely future pattern of children’s services and the needs of the local community.

Shropshire County Council is meeting in November to consider the future of Lydsbury North and Clunbury Primary Schools. Should the Council decide to proceed with its proposals to amalgamate the two schools, the Diocese of Hereford has the power to object formally to the decision and have the proposals referred to the schools adjudicator for fresh consideration


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Name Comments
Dickon Howell "I could not think of a better place to have gone to school than Lydbury, it is at the heart of the village and it would be completely wrong to close it."
Tony Harris  
Kate Harris  
Lawrence Bluhm "It's a great school, Let's keep it as a school!"
Lee Jordan  
Greta Howell "Closing small schools that are loved and used by parents seems a very short sighted thing to do. Multi-age classes really do benefit the pupils to become better and more tolerant citizens"
Janice Bateson "the school is vital to a small country community."
Ian Bateson "without the school i.e. young people, what is the future?"
John Donoghue "good luck in your campaign, hope you win in your battle against bureaucracy and small mindedness"
Sarah Jackson "Small school are very, very important to our precious children! Keep them Open!"
Janice Higgins  
Stuart Hayward "Having attended this school till 1978 I feel it is vital for our communities to keep these rural schools going."
Peter Davies "I live in South Shropshire and want my 1 year old daughter to go to the local village school in 4 years time - not get on a bus everyday to the nearest town. Village schools are one of the few community focal points left (shops and post offices have gone, pub numbers and church groups are shrinking), losing them would be a real blow."
Liz Tinsley  
Sarah Dixon  
Jane Woosnam Roberts "I was a pupil at this school throughout my primary school years. My sister and brother also attended this school. My Mother was a dinner time supervisor and we still all live locally and think it would be a sad time to see our school close."
Thea Dall "I was a pupil at the school, as was my brother and sister, and could not think of a better place to have started my education. The idea of closing Lydbury school is totally outrageous!"
 
Bamber Hawes "this policy is foolish ~ all over a measly £1.3M which is 0.3% of total budget."
Rachel Hawes  
James Rose "The school is of paramount importance to the local community - please keep it open."
Alice Rose "My sister and I were lucky to have been pupils at Lydbury North School and received the best possible education there - Lydbury wouldn't be Lydbury without its school!"
Nikki Pugh "I value the education provided for my children by small schools and object to the proposed policy document for Shropshire"
Jean Ferguson-Davie "Small schools such as Lydbury North are a vital part of village life."
Gemma Evancook "Having attended Lydbury I know what an amazing school it is not only for the local children who attended but the community it is in. Are they not just trying to drive the young families to larger towns and cities so that small villages can just be turned into retirement homes!! It is totally outrageous that small schools are being considered for closure. "
Duncan Baker "All our four children went to Lydbury North Primary School. It served them excellently. One is a civil engineer working in quality assurance, once is a structural engineer designing schools, one is a prison governor and one goes to Sandhurst in May.
Not only has the school done our family proud, it also works well for the increasing number of children in the village now.
With a community shop, a pub and the school, as well as several local businesses, including our own language school, we all work hard to maintain the ethos and community of Lydbury North.
Do not remove the heart."
Janet Goodman "To my mind it is false economy to close small village schools which are providing excellent education for our children."
Leslie Goodman  
Leonard Stocking  
Stephanie Glasbergen  
Ian Kidd "The proposed closure of up to 20 primary schools is another attack on rural communities, all for the sake of £1.3m of revenue. There has got to be another mechanism for efficiency savings in the County. Why has the school been restricted to 8 new pupil intake over the last few years! We need a thriving and living community and without the school it will be devastating."
Shirley Kidd "We moved to the village because of the School. We wanted somewhere with a nurturing atmosphere and a high standard. Lydbury North Primary School has that and we are distressed to find that the school could be under threat."
Dean Kidd "The School has a lovely atmosphere and would be sadly missed"
Daniel Kidd "The School should not be closed down because it is a very happy School"
Owen Wilson  
Lorna Fontaine  
Will Cooper "Only the educated are free. (Epictetus)"
Bryan Podmore "It is outrageous that vital community schools are under threat"
Jennifer and John Brickett "This is one of the most popular schools in the area and a very important part of Lydbury North life."
Diana Walker "Lydbury North School is a vital part of the fabric of our community and MUST be saved."
Fred Averis "I strongly object to the possibility that such a vital part of our village as Lydbury North School should be closed. Thoughtless and arrogant are words that immediately spring to mind."
Ian Bufton  
Ella Barnes "This was my primary school and to lose it would be a terrible loss to the community"
Thomas Baker "I attended Lydbury North Primary school and remember my school days very fondly. I was able to walk across the road from home and get to school in less than a minute, and consider the school a very important part of our village."
James Collin "and just how far will these children have to travel to find another school place. It would appear that Shropshire is eager to opt out of educating Primary school children in rural areas! This policy will result in high costs, a larger carbon footprint and an ill educated population"
Shirley Ross-Hewitt "Primary schools should be kept small for small people."
Debi Lewis  "It seems unbelievably sad and short sighted to try and put a figure on the cost of a village losing its school, especially when it is such a happy and vibrant place. A sustainable community is priceless - removing the school would significantly impact on the sustainability and quality of life of this village"
Rita Baker "I appreciate that the County Council has to manage its budget, but this is an issue for national government. The proposal to close small schools as an economy measure is a paper exercise, not one grounded in reality. For a start, any perceived saving will be offset by increased transport costs. Our government talks of providing one to one tuition to help children 'failing' at school. A properly qualified and experienced teacher (where available) must cost much the same per hour as a class teacher. Some economy! Small schools offer amazing flexibility: a well managed class with two or more year groups in it can stretch the children who are quick on the uptake and support those who need to take things more slowly, without having to single anybody out. It is true that nationally numbers of school children are dropping. Here we have a golden opportunity to have smaller classes in demonstrably good schools - many of which, ironically, have recently had hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on upgrading the premises and facilities. We know that one of the biggest costs to society is the dysfunctional lifestyles of young people growing up in fragmented communities. So the proposal is to tear out the heart of closely -knit, functionally ideal communities, by closing schools which play a far bigger role than teaching. They provide a focal gathering point, central to the social life not only of families with young children, but older residents as well. Is it this government's policy to further undermine what remains of the extended family, turning rural villages into geriatric dormitories? This IS a rural issue. If the County Council is struggling with its educational budget, the government must increase the allocation. This would be just a drop in the ocean compared with the vast, wasted amounts it throws at other projects. When something is patently working so well, why destroy it. It brings to mind the image of ships and ha'penny worths' of tar .... "
Louis Bluhm "save my school" (Lydbury North)
Diana Hoare "The school makes the heart of the village community it will tear the heart out of the community if the school is closed"
Anne Owen "We chose to send our two daughters to Lydbury North School because it was a small school with outstanding teachers. Future children should have this vital opportunity. "
Edward Owen "Children are more important than finance. Bussing small children long distances is simply not in the long-term interests of the child. Everyone knows that where you start your education has a profound effect on your life. It's common sense: a good start is vital. As we discovered from our own daughters' education, Lydbury North school provides this."
Rosemary Frost "Small village schools are vital for the rural communities."
Emma Langman "Small schools can prepare children particularly well for academic and whole life achievement. All 4 of my siblings and I went to University (3 of us gaining First Class Hons degrees) and there is no doubt that was partly attributable to the unique education and community belonging that being part of a small school like Lydbury North brings."
Mark Francis  
Finn Galtress "I guess you could close our school in Wistanstow, the site would be great for a mini Tesco or Sainsbury. But then, without the school, people might move away from the parish and the greedy supermarket might not have any customers left. Let's not be so short sighted. The environment of a village school, such as Wistanstow, is central to the extended community in which it lies. My children benefited from their years there because it was in a thriving village where people count - not just bits of paper and greed. Do the right thing and keep village schools alive - they are at the heart of our communities and educate our children to know and believe in such values. "
roz p "As an ex student of the school, with a sibling still there, I strongly object to the proposal to close small schools."
Richard and Ann Goosey "We are ex-teachers and governors of a small school (Onny). We can see that our small school is of inestimable and irreplaceable value to the children, the parents and the village community. We can hardly believe that everything the school has built up over the years could be in danger of being destroyed."
Claire Minton Bedddoes "I attended Lydbury North School for nearly 6 years along with my three sisters, aunts and uncles. Village Schools are important, and vital for the rural community. Please save our school. "
Gareth Morris "Lydbury School gave me an excellent standard of education, one that small schools are so good at providing. The education was so good and longlasting that it persuaded me to go into the teaching profession. It has a great community atmosphere, one which a lot of schools across England could learn from."
Matthew Knight "A creative way forward is needed to resolve the difficulties of running small village schools. To close them down shows no respect to rural life and a lack of vision of what they could be."
Marcus Willcocks "please think people before numbers!"
Jonathan Crangle  
kerry burns-loynton  
Jill Bartlett  "Wistanstow school is essential to the local community, in a time when rural life is being eroded. My son currently attends the school, & benefits from attending a local school.
As a midwife in the area our birth rate is not dropping,& with increasing number of migrants I see it will only increase."
 
Katy Alston "Closing our school in Wistanstow would devastate our community but would only save a drop in the ocean for the county council. Please don't underestimate the importance of local schools."
Elisabeth Knight "Why mend something that is not broken? Small schools can deliver excellent education. The thought of small children undergoing lengthy journeys before and after school is intolerable.
Michael Knight "If big schools are so much more efficient then why not run a group of small schools the same way? One head teacher can oversee the whole group and teachers can move between sites to utilise their specialties. There are plenty of solutions if we think outside the box - something that S.C.C. seems to be unwilling to do."
Kate Reynolds "Lydbury North Primary School was fundamental in my development and enthusiasm as a learner. A whole-school experience is vital for young children, before they disappear in a large and scary Secondary School!  Wistanstow is also an exceptional school, also under threat. This is unacceptable."
Sally & Howard Goodwin "please save our village schools"
Graham Ford "My two children went to this school (Lydbury North) and I have seen it improve greatly under the headship of Jenny Davies. What a shame if all her work were to amount to nothing when there is no need to close a village school which is fulfilling its purpose."
Kathryn Hughes "I attended Norbury Primary School from 1970 along with my brother and sister, and feel proud that my two girls can also experience the wonderful 'country school education' that I received and absolutely loved. I feel the heart of the community is centred around Norbury Primary School and if we were to have this taken away it would be an absolute tragedy, not only for the children, but for the community as a whole. "
Dawn and Glyn Griffiths "Please do not allow the destruction of excellent rural primary education. Our children need this calm environment in which to learn."
Holly Bateson  
Lynne Farr  
David & Sally-Anne Jones  
Polly Peters "To even contemplate the promotion of 'one size fits all' primary schools, at the expense of the wonderful variety of small Shropshire schools with fewer than 4 classes, appears to be a potentially devastating attack on groups of the most vulnerable: children living in small, rural communities.
Village schools occupy a unique place in rural communities. The loss of any one of them would be a loss not only to the children and parents of that school but a major loss in terms of local culture and tradition (often centuries old). Small schools are focal points of entire communities, not just families with school-aged children.
I strongly urge anyone involved in the decision process on the future of Primary education in Shropshire to spend a day (unpaid - to mirror the extraordinary number of unpaid hours devoted willingly to small schools by parents, governors and community members) to get a true perspective on why small schools are so important and successful and why they are so vital to the sustainable future of rural Britain. "
Asa Peters "I am in class 1 (LYDBURY NORTH). I love walking and scootering to my school. I like my teachers and my friends and going to forest school in my village."
Gordon & Sandra Schofield "How can a Local Authority, who has genuine concern for the children in its care, be so short-sighted as to entertain the consideration of such closures. One of the strengths of the small school is that everyone is 'known' and support can be given where there is need. Young children should not be pushed into the larger school environment too early!"
Lesley Ellis  "Both my children have had a wonderful education & were both very happy and well adjusted and made a wonderful transition to senior school. You would make a big mistake and ruin children's lives and communities that they live in."
Ben Pugh  
Clare Russell  
Miriam Horton  
David Horton  
Thomas Bayliss "small schools all over the EU are being shut down in favor of larger more controlled schools. the architects of the EU treaty do not want informed educated citizens, we must try to save our democracy as well as our school."
Zahra Squires "With so many bigger schools failing to achieve even the most basic educational standards I'm astounded that this appears to be the route the council wish to pursue. Surely possible school closure should be based on academic performance and not financial issues? If finances are paramount there must be far less devastating ways to make such a relatively small saving."
Heather Walker "More time should have been given for communities to consider this policy!"
Sian Hawes  "My children both went to a small primary school and thrived in terms of education confidence and they both loved the school ,staff and their friends. "
Kate Sutcliffe  
Melanie Simpson  "I feel village schools provide an excellent and irreplaceable service"
Aaron Simpson "I am horrified to discover that all the schools we are considering for our daughter are currently under threat"
Jenny and Graham Oliver "Here at Wistanstow school our children learn about getting involved, and playing an active role in community life. If schools like this were to close it would destroy the rural communities that are so important to our next generation."
Sue Fleetwood "Village schools are the lifeblood of our rural communities. Caynham school is integral to the success of our village hall, pre-school playgroup and church. Mixed age group classes work well and the children benefit from the experience of being educated with a small group of children."
Roger Plowden  "This seems a crazy proposal, particularly in the light of demographics after 5 years, and the savings due from conversion to a Unitary Authority."
Amy Selley  
Sue & Ray Amos "Small schools give the best kind of primary education and are totally necessary in rural areas. Why close them and force more vehicles on the road?"
Laura Bluhm  
Elizabeth Davies "Our children have a wonderful education in a small rural school. Please don't stop that."
Caitlin Hazell "Don't close small schools such as Hope, Lydbury and Norbury, It's a long way for young children to travel and a lot of money was spent on recent Norbury projects, this money will have been wasted!!"
Maggie Molam "Small schools rock!"
Terry Couzens "We are told this policy is proposed purely because of budgetary constraints. Shame on those in this rich nation who condemn any of their finest communities to such a lingering death. No doubt in time they will need to increase other budgets to compensate."
Mike Pugh  
Andrew Peters "If you close all these vital parts of our community in South Shropshire, you will create ghost retirement villages and commit political suicide. Is this the legacy you want to be proud of? Our daughter and son have benefited greatly from this local village school - it is the lifeblood of our village."
Jacqueline Evans "I, together with my siblings attended Farlow School, and my daughter is also now in year 6. I am also a parent governor and willingly give my free time, (as so many others do to such a worthy cause). This school is the centre of the community in Farlow and Oreton. The Ofsted reports are excellent and all the children are happy and well adjusted. It would be such a loss to the whole community if this school were to close. The staff are excellent and support lots of school clubs, enabling the children to socialize out of school hours in an extremely rural area. The school is centrally located to serve both villages. If the school were to close, young children would be forced to travel much further distances which would be intolerable."
Sally Collin "Children in rural areas thrive in rural schools, transporting them to urban schools isolates them from the community they live in. Unless Parents are able to fetch and carry they are unable to take part in extra curricular activities provided in urban schools or socialise with friends made at school.
Schools such as Lydbury North are vital to this county, which is predominantly rural. I can find no sense or savings in terms of finance gain, carbon emissions, or our children's futures. "
Reg Walford  
Alison Hazell "Short sighted proposals would devastate local communities and result in young families moving away to be nearer facilities, with the knock on effect this will have on shops, post offices, small businesses etc.
Some small schools were provided with outreach nurseries to give nursery education to 3 year olds, this resulted in the closure of many pre-school playgroups, such as Norbury Ducks and Drakes. If such schools are closed how far will the 3 year olds be expected to travel? (my secondary age children are already on school transport for one and a half hours a day!) Will very young children be supervised on transport (if this is even provided!)
Support is needed for all small schools even if your local one is not under immediate threat."
Lucinda Parish "Please think very long and hard about this proposed policy. If Lydbury North Primary School were to close it would have a catastrophic effect on the local community. The heart of the village would be torn out. Our eldest son recently moved on to the next stage of his education - he had a fantastic start here at Lydbury North and is well in line if not ahead of his peers. Our next two are thriving and our fourth child can't wait to start. The atmosphere in the school each morning is unrivalled. To receive a warm welcome and daily contact with the teachers is fantastic. We are able to walk or bicycle to school weather permitting. We also provide a site at home for the school to partake in Forest School. This would no doubt be unsustainable if the school was to close - a very great shame for many children. PLEASE DO NOT CLOSE OUR SCHOOL."
Tony Rayer "What happened to education, education, education?"
Des Davies "If you really want to influence the councillors who decide this matter form your own single policy party. From your site you appear to have enough support to put up a convincing front. Then let it be known that in the next elections you will contest the seat of any councillor that votes for closure (do it carefully as you must not put undue pressure on the poor souls!). It does concentrate their minds wonderfully although I can't guarantee it always works.
It depends on when your next elections are, how many of your councillors are returned unopposed and how many come from families with strong showing within their particular community. Coming from West Wales I' got no special axe to grind, especially as my children are all grown up, but I hate to see village schools closed just for the sake of the accountants. Oh, and councillors expenses aren't bad nowadays! "
Vicky Holben "Lydbury North School gave my sister and I a fantastic start to our education. Small schools are vital for communities to survive and flourish. Don't be shortsighted and let the years of success and hard work disappear, save the school."
Delwyn Parker "Consequence of a older age group moving into the countryside, I hope these in movers will pull their skills to keeping this school. I was a Bishop's Castle school boy, but I moved to BC from a village where the school is now closed. Accountants can be right and make a good case ,but NO pub ,no garage, no shop, no school. You cannot stop time ,but progress, sometimes you have to ask are things done in the name of progress best when you look back on how and envy the friends who have prospered by attending village schools."
Anne Parker  
Ben Parker  
Dan Parker  
Robert Wood  
Matt Bluhm "community schools keep communities alive "
Tiffany Robinson  
Laura Watton "Me, my family and the small community I live in will absolutely devastated should our school go. "
Catherine Youd  
Hellen Hayward  
Alison Green  
Clint Green  
Sarah Breakwell  
Andrew Simmonds  
Helen Jones "St Andrews CofE Primary at Nesscliffe is the heart of our village community. Close it and there will be no community. "
Robert Lopez "I chose Nesscliffe school for my children precisely for it's small, community nature, and had already rejected the alternatives that the council says I must choose. SCC, you are ripping the heart out of the rural community. All this talk about walking more, not driving, shopping local and strengthening British communities - and yet you plan to contribute to the destruction of all these things. When it's all gone, it's gone for good; you must surely realise that? I didn't choose Nesscliffe school because I'd accidentally 'overlooked' the bigger so-called better schools elsewhere. What happened to parental choice? What happened to 'children first'? This proposal is nothing but council sponsored vandalism."  
Sarah Sheppard "As a parent and PTA Chair at Weston LullingfieldS School I disagree strongly with the proposed closure of all our rural schools. They are special and offer an great alternative to the larger schools. They offer parents a choice. Take them away at your peril!"
Michael Sheppard "As a parent of a child at Weston Lullingfields School, I strongly disagree with the proposed closures and mergers. Local primary schools are the lifeblood of our communities and any closures will cause further damage to many rural areas. The savings are relatively modest and you can't measure a child's education and happiness in money terms alone. We must all stand together on this issue and provide strength in numbers."
Carla Lowndes "Has the County Council really thought this through? On a £400m+ budget, not to be able to find the £1.7m needed to maintain our children's education is surely poor management and prioritisation. "
Rhian Jones  
Nic Steventon "Save Cheswardine School - 'Don't rip the heart out of Cheswardine, Don't break the hearts of our children'
People come from many other parishes to Cheswardine School, ask yourself why.
It should be all about the children and losing these schools will ruin a great many of these children."
Natalie Jubb  
Leanne Bradley "Please save Cheswardine school. I attended the school, my mother works at the school, my nephew has just started and I have a 4 month old son who i took for granted would be attending Cheswardine school. Closing these schools will have a negative impact on so many children, families and local communities. Please don't destroy Shropshire!"
Richard Bradley "Save Rural Schools, Save Rural Communities!"
Zak Bradley "Save My future!!! I'm only 4 months old but when its time to go to school there will not be one to go to!"
Alison Reeve "Never mind your figures and policies, think
of the children's education, the disruption it would cause to their learning if you closed the Primary schools. I am utterly disgusted my child has only just started school 2 weeks ago. If you close the school where will she go? She is already in a class of 30 pupils does this mean that if all the proposed schools closed the class sizes would go up to probably 50 per class? That would be a recipe for disaster and a very poor education!!!!!"
Sarah Edwards "The unsettling of over 1300 children in rural communities is ridiculous. It seems to be a bean counting exercise without any thought as to the impact that this will have on each and every one of these communities. One size does not fit all! I chose Weston Lullingfields for my daughter as she is very shy and not very confident. The change in her is immense. She is involved in all school activities, play, swimming, her reading is improving dramatically. I cannot imagine how she will get on in a BIG school. One of the options is Bicton Heath - it is miles away! This policy needs to be reversed. We should be embracing diversity, not trying to make all our children the same! I thought that every child matters, maybe I misunderstood.
We are a very small school, but the Ofsted inspection have ""Outstanding"" in two categories. These are not given out readily. There are other BIG schools in special measures - why close the successful schools that are the backbone of their rural communities.
If anything is taking place in the village, the school is the first port of call to encourage participation and there is always enthusiasm.
The PTA is very strong in our school and we have a lovely community spirit. THIS MUST NOT BE TAKEN AWAY - what will our village have left? The church and that is it! Maybe there is a plan to merge all rural communities with the towns and cities around and make a huge urban conurbation - it is certainly looking that way! These have two very different needs and involve different people. Urban communities tend to be more transient than rural communities, where some people's rural businesses keep them anchored in the same place for generations."
Kathryn Parsons  
Helen Diack  
Martin Smith "The problem lies in that those who make the decision to help save the budgets do not have to then be responsible for the long term damage they cause to the communities - from personal experience I know that the closure of a village school will significantly alter the demographic of the future population. It is vital to keep young families in the community or the areas affected become a retirement home wilderness. "
Kathryn Hurst  
Jo-Anne Jones "Shocked and upset!! My daughter is at Buildwas primary school which is over subscribed has an excellent OFSTED report and an amazing set of teachers who know each pupil and each PARENT by name and background. She would not get the support she requires in a class of 30 or more children at this a key stage in her learning. "
Alan Steventon "I went to Cheswardine Primary school, and so did my brother, and many cousins, my son is due to start here in Jan09.
Do not close Cheswardine Primary School you will not only take all the children away from Cheswardine but most of the fundraising is done at the village hall so that will lose out, the shop will lose custom, all these new houses have been built but there will be no facilities left."
Ryan Steventon "I am 3 and a half and live 2 doors away from Cheswardine Primary School, i am due to go to Cheswardine Primary School in Jan09 and i WANT to go to this school i do not want to have to get in a car and travel all the way to Hinstock on a dangerous road to go to school.
Save Ches School"
Jacki Watts "My daughter attends ONNY school. I chose this school because of the reputation it had and for the involvement it had with the local community. It was the best decision I could have made. To close this school would be a crime in itself. There has to be an alternative. All rural/village schools bring benefits to their community. If the list of schools that has been produced are closed, what then? How long will it take for the remaining schools to also be under threat of closure? How many years do you think it will take to condense all small schools into a few very large schools. Can we guarantee that the children in those large schools will benefit in the same way as our children are today. Village schools are family extensions that we entrust our children to on a daily basis. I do not believe that large schools can provide this. With the best will in the world, they simply have too many children. That's why I chose for my child to not attend the two schools whose catchment area we fell in, but chose ONNY. We must not allow for this and other rural schools to close. In the long term, all our lives will be affected by this damning decision. Mark my words!"
Sean Hutchinson  "This is a very small rural village where the community revolves around the school. You take the school out you take out the heart of the village. The schools which are given as an alternative are already fully subscribed and would need to build new class rooms to take in the other children which comes at a cost, I thought the whole exercise was to save money? These children need the school they have, not a room with 35 - 40 kids in it. If this goes through then I will have to seriously consider who I vote for in the next election."
Lucy Sheppard "I am a sister of Amy Sheppard at WESTON LULLINGFIELDS School and I think the schools should stay open as they have NOT done ANYTHING wrong and they are just like any other school so why close them? My mum and dad chose Weston as a school for Amy as she has Downs Syndrome and the school is REALLY friendly so why break up the friendship at the schools?

PLEASE KEEP THE SCHOOLS OPEN!!!"
Pauline Grime "what a ridiculous proposal by the county council. We in south Shropshire pay one of the highest council tax rates in the country, for what? The emptying of our bins and trying to take away our children's education! I am disgusted."
Virginia Smith "and they want us to vote for them?"
Tina Archer "It's an absolute outrage that our wonderful rural schools and communities are at risk. "
Tim Malim "Stop centralisation and the ""big is beautiful"" model. We don't want faceless megaschools where personal identity is lost, together with respect and discipline. Ideology, politicians and council officers must move with the times and realize the prime importance that local communities have in helping prevent global warming (reducing unnecessary travel) and in combating social breakdown. Keep our schools small and local and we give our children a safer and better education, as well as lowering the carbon footprint of each child. Small schools are encouraged in rural Wales and Scotland; why shouldn't we have the same benign attitude and community benefits in England?"
Nicola Jones "amalgamating Oakland and Longmeadow schools is an illogical proposal, the council have their facts wrong in this particular case. Oakland is a large outstandingly successful and financially viable village school, meets and even exceeds all relevant standards and should be left alone."
Dorothy Smith "The proposed closure of these schools is short sighted and a complete disregard of parental right to choose the type of education for their child. Village schools bind communities together, and help children to become mature respectful members of society. Shropshire wants quality not quantity."
David Partridge  
Mike Lewis "I benefited from a rural small school education which involved a lot of contact with village people who gave us a unique window on life complemented by exposure to the countryside unsullied by city folk/yob culture. "
Mary Macpherson "Closing these schools will destroy communities Rural life is under enough threats as it is."
Christine Pritchard "Why close good schools that all want their children to go to? Why reward success with annihilation?
Simon Hey "I disagree with the plans to close these schools."
Barbara Daughtrey  
Jane Burgoyne "Why are the conservative county council hell bent on destroying rural life when it is something they proclaim to protect"
Louise Woodhouse "Buildwas is a fantastic school that really works, why would you close it?"
Laura Fergusson  
Kathryn Fergusson  
Anthony Brisbourne "Cheswardine school has been a successful primary school for many years and the thought of it closing (especially after two new housing estates being built in the village) just shows the Government and the local Councils lack of understanding for small close knit communities. I went to Cheswardine School and all four of my brothers & sisters, My two nephews and My Cousins child go to the School at the moment as well as my Mother being a Dinner Lady their for over 15 Years, I was also hoping for my 21 month and 5 month old children to apply to go their. Generations of people have and will use this school and Its a disgrace to even consider closing it and a catastrophe if it goes ahead. If the people who think its a good idea to close these schools actually visited them then I'm sure their opinions would be drastically different."
Cathy Swinnerton "Closing these schools is not the solution."
Amanda Donnelly "Save Cheswardine School - this school is an ideal location for all new policies to be put into place. Unlike some schools it has outdoor facilities, woodland and field area which is ideal to promote the outdoor healthy living lifestyles that are so important. How are we to encourage children to be more active in schools with limited outdoor sporting facilities. Traveling from cheswardine to other schools would be asking for traffic chaos on single laned roads in this area. "
Jakky Bates "As a parent of 3 children who attend Buildwas school, I am fully behind this campaign and will help in anyway I can.
We can do this. Lets make the campaign as big as possible, hopefully we will go national."
Laura Baker  
Christine Neame "Smaller schools have a great deal to offer children"
Jenny Beets  
Warren Beets "It would be totally wrong to close any small school. My children are having the best education at Barrow and to close any rural school would be a big mistake, not just now but in the future."
Carole and Wilfred Thomas "There are a great many new homes being built around the Baschurch, Bomere Heath and Ruyton-X1-Towns area which will increase the numbers of children in the very near future. Planning applications must be taken into account before irrevocable loss of educational facilities take place.
The excellence of rural schools is maintained by their compactness. There is a great deal of new housing being built in villages surrounding Weston Lullingfield. These are family houses targeted at young couples with children. It makes no sense to deprive dynamic communities of essential facilities such as education for the very young."
Jessica Beets  
Jodie Beets  
Jenny Beets  
Eileen Morris  
Alysha Lloyd  
Sarah Pritchard "My children both attend Adderley CE primary school. They enjoy school and are doing well. We went out of catchment to the school and have never regretted our decision. By closing Adderley school the council will be removing our choice in education that we were told we had. It also flies in the face of the ""Every Child Matters"" policy. Well I think my children matter but Shropshire County Council don't seem to."
Sandra Noble "I am in favour of smaller schools - the children are educated to a higher standard, shame mine didn't have the opportunity to attend a school with a lower intake. I live in a town and feel the education authorities have let my kids down - they are bright but need more than the parent pushing them!!!! Hope you read the comments and take a very sympathetic view to the pending closure - I think its disgraceful to shut the schools just to save a few pennies!"
Kevin Preston "these people need to know that they cannot destroy our way of life to save a few pounds!!"
Janice McLeod " Buildwas, Buildwas, Buildwas,Buildwas.... leave our community alone, we achieve better results with our children at Buildwas than the bigger schools."
Amy Preston "prioritize our children's education, invest in the children not in other short term schemes."
Kirstin Dixon "I am very concerned with the level of inaccuracy of the information that has been presented to the cabinet members. It beggars belief that such crucial life changing decisions may be made using information that is so blatantly incorrect... how can the architects of this sham live with the deceit that they have conjured up or is it that they are merely completely incompetent?"
Ann Grove "Please don't close our small primary schools they help children so much in the beginning of their school life. There is a saying ""if something's not broke don't mend it"". The kids are happy, in their small schools and as such learn so much easier, teachers know the children there is continuity in the important early years. Parents are known, siblings ditto. The children are not overwhelmed by the size of the class or the building which can be the case at larger schools. "
Lydia Day age 9, from barrow school
"I really love my school, it is great being in a small class because you get a lot of attention, which, in the end, adds up to having a lot better education.  "
Mandy Day "We are throwing away the best and most historic schools just to save money which could be found from elsewhere."
Greg Day "We are losing parental choice. Small schools are an option and difference that must be kept. "
Nathan Day aged 5 from Barrow School
"Everyone at my school is nice and friendly to me and I am doing really well."
Tom Crane "Save the schools dudes!!!!"
Emilie Noble  
Sheldon Burgher  
Sarah Smith  
Sally Western  
KB "DONT CLOSE THE RURAL SCHOOLS, they are a vital part of the childs education. Smaller the better!"
Eleanor Price  
Pauline Vaughan "What happen to Gordon Browns promises to give our children better education. What benefit is it to take kids away from there already successful environment and friends to almalgamate into a bigger school that is not as successful and will be extremely frightening for those used to a smaller environment, especially kids in their last year doing Sats how can that be beneficial?
We need the government to stop lying to us and tell the truth for once, bottom line this is a money issue as everything is and it doesn't matter to any of them who gets hurt in the process, why should they care they don't know the kids! "
Tony Bromwich  "As the parent of two children at Church Preen School, I am dismayed at the proposal to close rural schools. As a democratically elected body, the County Council should act in the best interests of the people of Shropshire, not rip the heart and focal point out of so many rural communities. The Council appear to be basing their rationale purely on questionable financial assumptions rather than what is best for the children of Shropshire and in particular those at the 22 affected schools. We MUST UNITE to fight this ludicrous proposal."
Roy Vaughan "I have 5 grandchildren in Essex that go to a
rural village school who are doing extremely well and all are advanced in most subjects. How long before we will have to go through what the poor parents of Shropshire are having to endure facing the prospect of taking children out of their comfort zone and placing them in a larger environment probably miles away from home. This is a cruel and uncompassionate policy and I am comfortably sure that those who have made this decision do not have children attending any of these schools. "
Melissa Russell "It does not make sense to close these schools!"
Fiona McCleary Aged 8:
"I am really really upset and don't like the council for trying to close all the village schools."
Sophie McClearly Aged 7
"Please don't let them take my friends away from me. I love my school 'Buildwas Primary'"
Livvie McCleary Aged 5
"(chanted)
Save our schools, don't close Buildwas please"
Rob Draper  
John Blessington "Our village schools provide something special and individual and are key to the communities they have served so well for sometimes a hundred years. That they should be axed en-masse according to a one size fits all formula cannot be the best possible way to assess their value, or indeed 'best value'. Lets look at this whole thing again, properly and with some imagination."
Rebecca Detheridge  
Stuart Palmer "Let's provide our children, our future the education they need to succeed and run this country as it needs to."
Becky Terrett "save cheswardine primary school......"
Doreen Shelley "Small village schools are at the heart of the community. If they are lost part of our heritage is lost too."
Shona Mullarkey  
Lorraine Ford "Stop the closure of the rural county schools.
20 years ago I helped save my daughters' school - Crudgington Primary, and now it is one of the top schools in the country, simply because parents prefer the intimacy of a smaller rural school than a larger over-populated school."
Paul Weaving "I benefited from a rural school education and there is nothing better."
Lucia Cunningham "Save our rural schools and stop this corporate vandalism."
Camilla Hughes  
Helen Morton "In the year 2009 we will no longer hear the laughter of the children playing in the school yards. Our villages will become very different places to live. A village with no school makes a less appealing place for families, so what will happen to the village community?
We must fight together to keep our village schools open - Parent of Welshampton Primary School "
Jonathan Hughes  
Miriam Emberton "My grandchildren go to one of the schools that is being threatened with closure, to do so would put their early education back no end, these small schools give the children a good start, because they are SMALL!"
Maurice Emberton "I wish to protest at school closures as I believe that less numbers in class ensures more individual attention."
Keith Osmund-Smith "Stop! Right now. "
Emily Albouy "School is already very tiring for young children. If they have to spend over an hour a day in a car or bus to get there and back, their learning outcomes will suffer."
Mary Burt "Does quality rather than quantity not matter any more? I am an Adderley grandmother."
Julie Sayce "Village schools are very important for the children and the community, it really does matter that education remains local."
Roger Davies  
A Cross "is this a cynical political scatter gun ploy to include a large number of schools in the closure threat so that the SCC/LEA can then 'save' some and achieve their intended closure list"
Julie French "If educational funding was more evenly distributed throughout the country then we would not be in a position where small unique rural school need to be sacrificed and parental choice too."
Julian Madeley  
Matthew Bowler "In a time when the behaviour of young people is being scrutinized more than ever before, surely the last thing we should be trying to do is fix what isn't broken!!"
Craig Jones  
Elizabeth Gough  
Fiona Dale Save our rural communities from dying!"
Jill Jones "stop trying to kill our communities"
Penny Harris "Bring the army back and you will find the money to keep the schools open and help them stay open instead of closing them. The money the government uses is the tax payers money, it is our money they spend, why do we put up with them spending it so badly?? "
Lisa Owen  
David Owen  
Susan Jones  
Maria Roche  
Deborah Neal "this has obviously enraged many people with many different associations with the schools. the whole issue needs revisiting by the government, let people have their say"
Martine Duffy "The government has to understand that rural communities and schools play a vital role in the development of a civilised country. It works in France where I come from, why not here?"
Ann Tudor "The local authority is not recognising its wider responsibility to maintain and support the rural communities which it serves in proposing to close locally based schools. This decision should not be seen in the context of the LEA budget alone (and my understanding that is that the savings are relatively minimal in relation to the LEA's total budget) but in the context of the LA's whole provision to rural communities. "
Devri duVal -Willets "I am a parent of five who's children attend Buildwas Primary and we also live in the village. I would like to say thankyou for all the support shown for the non closures of rural schools. Keep our rural Communities alive"
Suzanne Evans  
Jackie Tilbrook  
Duncan Montgomery "The list is crazy - some of the best schools with quality education and great results are being closed even though they have virtually no spare places. all because of this 3 or 4 class divide. Build an extension and add a teacher- keep the great schools open."
Russell Purslow "Every Child matters !! No. each £ matters more."
Laura Hill "Save our rural schools!"
Nadine Hill "I have lived in the village of Weston Lullingfields for over 40 years and without the school village life will be lost. My children attended the school, and now my grandchildren do. Save our village schools!"
Dave Sankey  
Theresa Sankey  
Rebecca Sankey  
Stuart Lippitt  
Claire Parton "My Son goes to Barrow. It is a fantastic school which came 5th in Shropshire for its SATS results. It shouldn't close. "
Debbie Ellis "I think it is disgusting to uproot children during their education when they are performing excellently am concerned re: instability as my son will be wrenched away from friends he has grown up with."
Stephen Kelly "This PSO proposal is a travesty and an outrage for all of us living in rural communities. And our local and unsupportive County Councillor Barbara Craig cannot be allowed to go for re-election again unopposed in the next election in May!!"
Joe Hawkins "I don't want Lydbury North school to close because it is a wonderful school and I want to stay there until high school."
Sharon Deavall "this will destroy rural villages and everything they represent"
Susan Dix "Village schools create communities. Not only that they shape and nurture our little people. Feeling safe and familiar with your surroundings help you become confident and self-assured as you get older. The qualitative benefits of village schools can't be underestimated."
Sarah Munn "Children in primary schools are the future. What future are we giving them by the closure of small schools? Lets give our young children the best educational start we can to ensure the best for our future as well as theirs!"
Rob Munn  
Elizabeth Barnfield "I think this is a fabulous web site, I also think that they shouldn't be closing our lovely parish schools. some of the children from Rushbury are going to a protest on the 30th January at Shire Hall."
Hilary Ansell "Our family feels very strongly about keeping Rushbury and all the village schools on the ""Hit list"" open. They are all an important part of the rural communities. Rushbury school also has the added bonus of ""Little Acorns"" which will also have to close. My sister and I both have very fond memories of our time at Rushbury school and I hope that my daughter will get the chance to go. "
Michelle Davies "i could understand if they wanted to close under achieving schools, but Lydbury North School is one of the best in the area, and to close this school will rip out the heart of the community. "
Ben Leather  
Beverley James "To lose our rural primary schools would be a great loss. These small, friendly schools really do help when it comes to turning out well behaved children. The staff seem to have more time for them & are very approachable. My daughter attended Buildwas Primary some years ago & I have nothing but praise for this school & have recommended it to many friends."
Karen Boyd "The statistics on which you have based your decisions are fundamentally flawed and it would be a reckless act to continue with your plans. Our children's education is priceless. Please do not jeopardise it with flawed cost cutting measures."
Claire Morgan "this is really sad, and this is an opportunity for kids to have their education!"
Pauline Sidwell  
June Evans "Our grandchildren are having an excellent education at Barrow School. Why should this have to change? "
Tony Evans "Save our schools!"
Louise Watney "We must fight on! My children go to Hope School."
Winifred Humphreys "My great grandchildren are attending Barrow School and love it there.   They are both doing so well. "
Sue Grundy "My little girl is in Moreton Say pre-school and is due to go to school there next year. It is a wonderful school and I am devastated. Our rural communities have so few facilities we need these schools."
Linda Haycocks "I think it is disgusting to close good rural schools. It destroys the community and village. SOS"
Gerri Mitchell  
Janet Frost "Yet another example of the way this government is keeping its promise to help the rural communities - help them to further fall apart more like!
Closing these schools is tantamount to breaking up families, it really is that sad. "
Linda Brett "A short-sighted, ill-thought out policy which can only damage communities and further diminish educational opportunities here. Small schools are valuable and what many people would choose for their children if they could. My children are on the waiting list for a place at a school now threatened with closure. The school would like to give them places but have not been able to. There is not an alternative school of similar standard nearby. "
Simon Harper "I would like my children to attend a smaller school as class sizes at some of the larger primary schools are a problem for all concerned. We have tried to move our children to a smaller local school but one of the year groups concerned is already over-subscribed. Now this popular school is threatened with closure. Smaller schools, particularly in rural areas provide a valuable resource for all concerned."
Angela Sell "disgusting and rather disturbing that education of the next generation can be treated in this way."
Tracey Grainger "Buildwas is an extremely good school what a waste"
Karen Martin "It is going to desiccate our community if the school closes. My children are the 3rd generation of our family to attend Moreton say school. Rural children need rural schools"
Jonathan Martin  
Jessica Kerswell  
Sue Munslow "Closing these schools is killing community life, causing extra traffic to and fro these larger schools and putting young children in larger classes where they cannot receive the same personal tuition."
Rosemary Tuite "just moved my 2 boys to church preen school (sept 07) they are in year 4 and 5 now. I moved them from a large Shrewsbury school because I choose to put them in a small school with small classes !!!How can it be in the child's interest to move them again to a larger school?"
Neil Tuite "What happened to parental choice, and the child's needs our paramount!! What's next? the secondary schools????"
Faraway Gardner-Brown  
Jean French  
Frank French  
Lindsey Grainger  
Joanne Grainger  
Brian Grainger  
Caroline Harvey "We chose Weston Lullingfields for our daughter because of the peaceful and tranquil environment the school provided, and not to mention the excellent Ofsted reports the school has been awarded. Please help us to save our school."
Jason Harvey "Weston Lullingfields School makes a massive contribution to the local community and is a focal point for the pupils and residents alike, having no other amenities within the village the school provides the opportunity for the community to participate in all activities and fates, if the school does close Weston Lullingfields will lose it's identity and a large part of it's history."
Graham Tolley  
Sarah Savine "I live in Myddle only yards from the school. I have one child there and one due to start in September. I cannot envisage Myddle without the school, we would be a ghost town. I think the councillors should have to visit these schools and face parents before any decisions are made."
Claire Alford  
Brenda Middleton "A small school is a SAFE & HEALTHY school as everyone knows & is known by all."
Nicola Hall  
Rosalind Ephraim  
Mark Hopkins  
Jordan Cruckshank  
Jordan Orr "I'm So Sad To Here This Happening To a School And I Think It Should Stop Now!!!."
Adam Scotts "This Thing Should Stop Now Jog On!!"
Philip Leverington  
Janie Williams "please keep our excellent rural schools like Onny CofE primary which play a vital role in already isolated communities. These schools are all unique and very individual catering for individual families needs which is something we should be valuing not destroying."
Paul Moore  
Lucy Prosser  
Helen Pryce "Why close schools that have maximum on role, and where the children are safe, happy and getting ""good schooling""??????"
Louise Minsahall  
Anne Edwards  
Tina Johnston "I grew up in Bishop's castle, most of my friends went to to Hope and Lydbury north, I would say that although I went to BC, not a huge school when I attended, at about 150, the quality of the school, and the experiences I had during my schooling has stood me in great stead for life. It would be a disgrace to close any of the 22 schools in Shropshire. As a county you have struggled with F&M which hit the locally area massively, for all who live there, economically and socially. Closure of the schools would hit the small communities even harder. It's not just the education of the local kid's, it's the impact on the whole community and area in general.
I can't be there to protest with you, but I am 150% behind you!"
John Bull "Small schools in rural areas are critical to rural communities. Small class sizes provide better quality education and do not necessarily cost more than those in larger schools. Transporting children over long distances to schools is costly and damages the environment.
Amanda Millington  
Julia Waterfall  
Charne Smith "any closure of a school is sad especially Onny as it will have a detrimental effect on the village itself as well as families living there."
Rosalind Griffiths "Onny Primary School guided me through my first stages of education within our village community. The right to a local primary education is invaluable to villagers and inhabitants of the surrounding countryside, in its absence children's education WILL suffer."
Jean Ferguson-davie "Amalgamation equals closure. The closure of Lydbury North School would rip the heart out of the village."
Helen Wood "Lydbury North school is the glue of the village, take it away and our close knit community will fall apart. It supports the church, village hall, shop and pub. The effect will be devastating. Once it's gone it will never be replaced, I urge everyone to fight to save our school now."
Myfanwy Ellams  
Richard Hawes  
Julie Edwards  
Vera and Malcolm Walters "It is preposterous to even think about closing this village school (and any of the others in Shropshire) or amalgamate it into a bigger school, especially as your government are advising County Councils that village schools should not be closed. Please increase the Schools Grant and get Fair Funding for schools in Shropshire"
Helen Torrington "good luck with your campaign and thanks for the support for Oakland in Bayston Hill"
Liz Townsley "I am a governor at Morville Primary.  We ( the governors and parents) want to show support to Lydbury by fighting the proposals to close any school in Shropshire unless the school itself wants this." 
Rachael Gee  
Sarah Morris  
Mairi Dugdale "Small schools are important, keep them open"
Juliet Morgan "Please leave two great little schools at Lydbury North & Clunbury to thrive in their own villages. The village children deserve the right to be educated in their own communities."
Romi Chantler "keep it open!"
Mark Wycherley  
Deborah McDonnell  
Tristran Chantler "save the school!!!"
Niki Taylor "stop this nonsense now. leave our schools alone. support them; don't close them"
Keeley Caudwell "as a parent at Oakland primary school in Bayston Hill we are in the same boat as you and fully support you in your campaign!! good luck to all who don't want the councils to rule our children's futures!!"
Rhea Pugh "As an ex-pupil of Lydbury North Primary I feel that I would not have done as well in my education if I had  gone to a large school. I feel ALL small schools have an advantage as that you get 1 on 1 tutoring if you get stuck, not 1 on 5! I would have hated (at the age of 4 when we were in reception) starting off my education (which will be with us for the rest of our life) in a school with say over 100 pupils considering Lydbury North had about 35 pupils which meant everyone was friends. I am very worried that some of the people who are in favour of these amalgamations are running education in our county.
REMEMBER AMALGAMATION = CLOSURE"
Jane Tranter  
Gary Tranter  
Daniel Tranter  
Emily Jane Tranter  
Hilary Wendt  
Jim Matthews "It was a long time ago (1957-1963) that i attended Lydbury North school. I can think of no reason why today's children in and around Lydbury North should be deprived of the same educational start that I was granted through Lydbury school. Larger is not always better."
Caz Mowe "Our great Lydbury North School is the very heart of the village. It's loss, or amalgamation with another school (still a loss, just another name for it!), would seriously undermine the sense of community, something we foster with care and attention to all the age groups in our village, and would result, ultimately, in Lydbury North turning into solely a retirement area. Keep our kids in the village by KEEPING OUR SCHOOL. "
Jolian Howell "Local village schools are the future for ensuring the prosperity of rural life. The French system illustrates this - there is a local school in every village which I am sure is one of the reasons rural communities continue to remain very successful"
Annalisa Barbieri  
Bonnie Arnott "I cannot believe that after the Government withdrew their plans to close schools that Shropshire County Council still feel it necessary to go ahead with the closure of Lydbury North School. The school is very much a part of our community and we all take pride in making sure that the Children receive the best support through the community volunteering to help out and also allowing the children to enjoy meeting and talking to the older members of our community to obtain a diverse view on our recent history and life in general."
Garry Drury "One of the cornerstones of a viable and sustainable rural community is the school. This is yet another example of petty officialdom overriding the needs of the local population. Another nail in the coffin for the traditional English village and rural values. Government policy allegedly is supportive of the rural economy, perhaps someone needs to point this out to the bean counters in the county education dept. Good luck to all campaigners."
Lynn Upton-Roddy "' Hey Council, leave those kids alone!`
amalgamation = closure"
Susan Jones "Please reconsider closing a lovely successful village school that benefits the local community in so many ways. There are plenty of other ways of saving money in the Department of Education that would have a far less devastating effect upon real people attempting to live, work, learn and grow up in an already relatively under funded rural community."