Parents vow to fight plans to shut Shropshire school
The fight starts here – that's the view of parents who held a protest outside Shirehall against plans to close a village school.
Parents of youngsters at Buildwas Primary School, near Ironbridge, insisted the school was a success and Shropshire Council is wrong to earmark it for closure.
About 20 people gathered outside Shirehall to make their feelings known as councillors yesterday decided to open consultation on the school's future in September.
One mother said: "We feel as parents that this is the start of our fight."
A petition, Facebook page and website have already been launched as part of the campaign to save the school. Parents say that the small class sizes, nurturing environment and community feel make the school vital to their community.
The mother, who did not wish to be named, said her two children had been unhappy at a larger school with big classes before they moved to Buildwas.
She said: "My children both lost their confidence and were not progressing, but since starting Buildwas they have made an unbelievable amount of progress in their work and are so very happy. I could not be happier with the school. We are a small school with a big heart, we are more than a school, we are a family.
"Although the outcome of the meeting was to start a consultation period in September, we feel as parents that this is the start of our fight."
"The latest Sats results are the best the school has ever had. The budget is balanced and the school has massively improved since the Ofsted report. Therefore we are finding it hard to understand the reasoning behind the decision."
For information on the campaign search for Save Buildwas School on Facebook or visit www.savebuildwasschool.co.uk
