MP gives his support to Shropshire parents fighting to save school
Parents fighting to save a Shropshire village school from closure have received a boost to their campaign from their MP.
Buildwas Primary School, near Ironbridge, could be closed in 2016 following a council consultation process, but Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski is lending his support to the campaign to save the school by helping it achieve academy status, so it can obtain its funding directly from the government.
He said: "I am in discussions with the chairman of governors and we are going to do everything possible to facilitate meetings and engagements with the Department of Education and others to see if we can get academy status for the school.
"I have also spoken to Keith Barrow, the leader of Shropshire Council, and informed him that I am engaging with the board to assist them in their aims to get academy status."
Mr Kawczynski said he would also be continuing to lobby over "fairer funding" for schools through the F40 campaign group – which is vital for small schools.
He said the current situation means that schools like Buildwas receive around £4,000 of funding per pupil each year, compared to some schools in London which receive £9,000 or more.
He said: "I am convinced if we are successful in that in some major way then we can make sure village schools are sustainable. I understand there are problems in some areas but they certainly do not require double the funding we get.
"That is why I am spending so much time campaigning to get the funding mechanism changed completely, so the differences each borough gets are no more than 20 per cent."
Mr Kawczynski said that village schools like Buildwas are vital to ensure small communities are sustainable.
He said: "Buildwas is the most eastern village in the constituency, it's very far away from Shrewsbury and is not overwhelmed with facilities.
"You have a good school, a post office, a pub, so naturally if a community like Buildwas loses its school it feels vulnerable – how can it sustain itself to attract more families into the area?
"They need to make sure Buildwas has the ability to have that school and children do not have to be bussed long distances to wherever the nearest school is."
On Monday parents held a protest outside Shirehall against plans to close the school.
The parents insist the school is a success story and said Shropshire Council was wrong to earmark it for closure.
About 20 people gathered outside Shirehall to make their feelings known as councillors decided to open consultation on the school's future in September.
