Parents shocked by school closure plan

Jun 20 2006 By Steve Johnson, Birmingham Mail

PUPILS, parents and staff were reeling today after shock news that council chiefs want to close a school in the Black Country.

The axe is set to fall on Cradley High School, at Homer Hill, Cradley, by the end of August 2008 - because too few pupils are choosing to go there.

The news, announced today, comes just a week after Dudley Council education bosses did a U-turn over plans to close Maidensbridge primary school at Wall Heath, which earned a reprieve to the delight of parents and pupils.

Coun Liz Walker, who was only elected to Dudley Council last month after an absence of 22 years but has been made cabinet member for children's services on Dudley Council, said today that Cradley High was no longer sustainable.

She claimed that the school had a capacity of 750 but there were currently only 500 pupils on roll.

"Only 81 pupils are due to start at Cradley High in September, compared to a capacity of 150.

"The fact is that not enough pupils are choosing to go to this school - 30 per cent of the pupils come from over the borough border in Sandwell.

"A lot of people see Cradley High but choose to go somewhere else. No-one likes to take these sorts of decisions and I am in danger of quickly gaining a reputation but I have to do my best to deliver the best possible education for all the children in the Dudley borough," she added.

Coun Walker said there were too few pupils opting to start their secondary education at the school and, as funding fell, the school would be unable to offer the present high quality of education.

Parents were receiving a letter from the school today explaining the shock proposals after Coun Walker and Dudley's director of education John Freeman held a meeting yesterday with Cradley High School head Toni Fowler.

A consultation period will start on July 5, running for six weeks either side of the summer holidays and including a series of meetings for parents, staff, governors and pupils.

The closure will take place on a phased basis, with some pupils moving before the closure date and no Year 7 pupils starting in 2007.

Coun Walker said there were too few secondary pupils in the Dudley borough to maintain 22 secondary schools and numbers were continuing to fall. She stressed there were no plans to close any other secondary schools.