Village will "die" if primary school closes (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Village will "die" if primary school closes

IF LONGBOROUGH Primary School is forced to close it will "kill the village".

That is the fear of parents fighting to save the Cotswold school after education consultants recommended it be closed.

Residents in Lower Swell have also questioned why their primary school is facing the axe when it is a thriving part of the community.

The Swell Action Group (SwAG) met this week to discuss the findings of the Area Schools Review Panel.

Parents, governors and teachers are angry and perplexed as to how a vibrant and successful school can be under threat.

SwAG chairman Graham Dodridge said: "It's reassuring to have seen so many people at the meeting.

"By sticking together and acting in our common interest we hope we can overcome the battle to save Swell School.

"The best things in life are worth fighting for and this is one of the very best. No amount of money can provide elsewhere that which Swell School gives to our community right here, and no financial saving can justify its removal."

Residents also heard from Mervin Benford, of the National Association for Small Schools, which has backed schools facing closure in the past.

He urged SwAG to question the recommendations and find out how the panel came to conclude the need to close the school.

Meanwhile in Longborough, also situated near Stow-on-the-Wold, worried residents aired their concerns at a recent parish council meeting.

Harry Taylor said: "The loss of a school begins a gradual decline into at best a dormitory village.

"No family with young children will want to move into the area - it will rapidly cease to be a family suburb."

Primary school education in Gloucestershire has been undergoing a massive review over the last 12 months.

Six review panels were set up in March 2005 to tackle falling pupil numbers in the county's schools and the recommendations for the Cotswolds will go before a meeting of Gloucestershire County Council's cabinet on Wednesday, February 1.