Reprieved school faces new threat

Jun 6 2006 By Tony Deeley, Birmingham Mail

A SCHOOL which survived the threat of closure was again facing the axe today.

Plans for the December 2006 closure of Stourbridge's Beauty Bank Primary School are to go out for public consultation on June 19.

Meetings will be held for parents, staff and governors while children will also be consulted.

Admission numbers at the Forge Road school - the smallest in the borough of Dudley - have been falling in recent years, making it the most expensive school per pupil.

Dudley Council originally proposed to close the school earlier this year.

But during the consultation and following concerns from parents, the proposals were amended for the school to partner with nearby Greenfields Primary School.

The Schools Adjudicator decided this amendment was a fundamental change to the original plans and refused the proposal.

In his ruling, however, he said that there were sufficient places in Stourbridge's other primary schools for all the children at Beauty Bank to be relocated.

The latest proposals will see the school buildings being used as a children's centre, providing a wide range of services for youngsters in the area.

The Stourbridge Family Centre would also be located to the site.

Coun Liz Walker, Dudley Council's cabinet member for children's services, said: "I am sorry to have to propose the closure of Beauty Bank Primary School, but there are just not enough children to make it viable.

"The school has few permanent staff and it will be impossible to maintain proper standards of education. However, work with children and families will continue on the site as it becomes a children's and family centre."