Church chiefs force review of Wakeman School axe decision

Church officials have exercised rarely-used legal powers to force the Government to review the controversial closure of a Shrewsbury secondary school.Church officials have exercised rarely-used legal powers to force the Government to review the controversial closure of a Shrewsbury secondary school. Church officials have exercised rarely-used legal powers to force the Government to review the controversial closure of a Shrewsbury secondary school.Church officials have exercised rarely-used legal powers to force the Government to review the controversial closure of a Shrewsbury secondary school. The Church of England's Diocese of Lichfield has referred Shropshire Council's bid to shut the Wakeman School in Abbey Foregate to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator at the Department for Education. Church leaders said that it was rare for them to step in to such cases, but they had chosen to use their right as a statutory consultee to appeal the council's decision, which was ratified by cabinet members earlier this month. Colin Hopkins, director of education at the Diocese of Lichfield, said: "The closure of any school is a traumatic event for its community and whilst we understand the financial pressures on the local authority that have led to this decision, we believe that a decision of this complexity and magnitude should be subject to external review so that a completely independent assessment of the case for closure can be made."[24link url="http://24.shropshirestar.com/story/church-chiefs-force-review-of-wakeman-axe-decision-128806/"]